The Paths We Choose
by wosao
Summary: AU Isan, the aids of the Avatar, were dead for 100 years but are rumored to have returned. Lau, Zuko's friend who joined him, is searching for all four Isan only to have some of her secrets come to the light in the process. CANCELED!
1. A Simple Noble

**3-24-06/EDITED:3-29-06/NOTE:Fixed Elegy a little and errors.**

**Hello, and welcome to the first chappie of my first story in the Avatar fandom. This is my 3rd fic, and I have been writing this since July/August. It has been a long time, but it is worth it. I am here to explain to you a little, then, I will get on to the story.**

**I am Chrissy, wosao, the main author of this story; but of course, I have one of my best friends, Britt, Meow-Mix-91, being my co-author. She joined me sometime in August...I think. As you will later find out, I have a horrible memory and will make mental notes to myself in Pig-Latin on the A/N: section, just ignore them. If you can read Pig-Latin, on'tday eadray ymay otesnay! If you can't then just ignore my babling. Well, I have some more important info to tell ya'll. Ok, well, you know now that I have a co-author who is incharge of all the funny chaotic events that happen throughout the story. I am in charge of all the action, fighting, gore-y stuff...and the angst and drama! I would like to tell you all that although the start may be slow of this story, it heats up really fast and really gets better. Things start happening later on, which I cannot disclose at this moment. Also, let this be a warning, this is a story centered around a OC, if you hate OC's then run...run far away cause the main character is an OC. But she is a kick-ass OC. And I will take this time to disclose Britt's and my feelings about Mary-Sues. I want them to die and rot in hell! The firey hell that never stops playing 'Three-Little-Fishes' over and over. I hate them with all their guts. I will tell you this now, this OC is no-where near a Mary-Sue, as she is no where near perfect or all nice and warm and fuzzy and never wrong and invincible. She's actually quite the opposite. So, I just babel on and on to make sure you guys know where we are going with this. To tell ya'll. I am not ditching this story. I have written 271 1/2 pages currently, on page 1 and 1/2 of chappie 19 and I have put way too much time to quit it. But of course, I have threated that I would just kill them all off. But I would _never_ kill of characters cause I'm lazy...never. I am noctorious for a few things...super, big-ass gauchoauthor's notes, as seen above, never shutting up, as seen above, and killing off characters. Like in my POTO story...Erik just happened to be in the way of Raoul's sword. And in the sequel to my SW story, I'll just shut up about that one since I haven't finished the story yet. **

**WARNING: I like to mess with people and their minds, so if something doesn't make sense or means one thing, it probably means something else and is probably tied up in a later chappie. I also like to hide little things. And also, since I am like such a SW geek, if I ramble on and on about SW, ignore me. Please...and now...on to...the DISCLAIMER! Yay for disclaimers.**

**Disclaimer:I don't own Avatar...blah blah blah...it belongs to Nick and the creators, not me. I don't get any money off of it. But they ideas in this story belong to me and Britt. The OC's all belong to me and all text belongs to me. Except for the RP-ed chappies and the text I ask my friends to write. Cause they do write for this story a little too.**

**Now, seriously, onto the story. Please enjoy my 4,000 some word chappie and elegy. **

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**Elegy 1: One Last Story; One Last Time **

_I never wanted to be who I am. We don't get the choice of who we become. If we were to be as lucky as to choose our lives, I would have never gotten into this mess, to do what I have done._

I walk solemnly, allowing my steps to liner on the floor. I have gone through much, of that I can't deny. I have latter regretted what I have done, but I still did it no matter what. We can't erase our pasts. If that was so, I would voluntarily choose to erase my existence. The world would probably be a better place had I never existed. But we don't get to choose to be born, it happens beyond our control. We don't choose our family either. But I would never want to be born into another family other than my own, Sei.

I step up the polished stone steps, looking down at my feet as I walk, as if I don't have the needed honor to look up. As soon as I reach the top, which was only a few steps, I raise my head. I glance back, making sure that the three people who were supposed to follow me were still there. They are all walking; walking in their own style; she walks very daintily,taking small light steps;both of the men walk regally, only because they think they look better that way.I look around, viewing my reflection off of the glistening stones. Their dark color blend in with the rich color of the walls. As I walk forward, I trace the carvings pf the symbols on the stones. Even to this day, I still have trouble reading them. When I reach my destination, which was the stone with certain symbols that meant great to me, I stop and bow with utter respect and keel down on one knee. They all follow suitand bow completely, respecting it. I reach out to a bowl to the side and take out three lavender leaves and light them in their center, making them smoke, releasing their scent. I lay them in front of the stone gently. I then seemed to be alone, in my own world alone.

I didn't necessarily give up – I never gave up. But you could say that I retired, in a way. The years of my life add up, which aren't many really, the years show upon my face; the light wrinkles near my eyes, showing my experience; the red streaks on my arms of a time long forgotten. I never used to show my arms, not do I now. I was and am self-conscious of them for many reasons. My hair has grown out from that time, now down to or past my shoulders as I used to have it when I was younger and later when I neglected myself. But it once was different – it was my last lifeline and I used it. The lack of care that I showed myself finally adds up now, and I am almost regretting how I treated myself before, _almost_.

I run my hand through my hair, letting it fall over my shoulders. I sink down low upon my knees, my head almost level to the middle of the stone. My eyes trace the carvings, searching for the ones that I am positive that I can read, searching for the names of the long forgotten, but of a time _not_ forgotten. A few of us wish to forget that horrid time, while most others still seek to finish what was started. People gain self-confidence from unusual times and events. That self-confidence that they gain will almost certainly cause them to die, or at least, be close to dying. I, of all people, would know that, as I was one of them. But that person is no more. Looking back on my life, I see that I was so arrogant and conceited, so overly proud of whom I was, blind to the fact of whom I was becoming; I was becoming the e_xact_ evil that I was supposed to be fighting. I was just as bad as they were.

"Great spirits," I whisper silently for only myself and the spirits to hear, "come take my body, come take my soul: take me away from this place. I have done my duty. Release me from this curse I am bound to." I remember the time when I said the exact same words – I was in utter desperation. I say those words to remind myself of the struggle that I went through, of the struggle that I ironically, want to rid my mind of. I then speak louder for everyone to hear."Spirits, grant me the strength and courage to repeat my story for the last time. Let us all tell of our journeys, adventures, and experiences. Of those that are not here, let them visiti us and tell their parts as well. Let none of us miss one detail – not one at all. One last time, spirits, that's all I ask."

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**Act 1: It Will Never be the Same  
Sc****ene 1: A Simple Noble**

Love and Anger: the two strongest emotions felt. Love: can be good and bad. Anger: also, can be a pro and con, but is used as a fuel source. Firebending is fueled completely on emotions. Without emotions, there is no Firebending. Which emotions used are up to the bender's preference. Love is a very uncommon fuel. Very _few_ can use it. I used to be one of those people. But just like most of the other benders that used love, fire's true nature ate away at it, throwingme into the self-destructive state. It quickly destroys our honor and mind.

Love and Honor: two very complicated things. Honor is everything, at least to Firebenders. You are nothing, nobody, without honor. Love cannot be defined; everyone has their own definition of it. Love is sometimes arranged, forced, expected, and even,used to save. Love and Honor is this story. A story of trying to find _real_ love, dignity, and of trying to heal the wounds of the past; that sometimes won't close as easily as one may think. Love-Honor-Acceptance: these make up this tale. But, most importantly, this 'story' was and is my life.

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**Lau's POV**

I sighed, as I leaned against the freezing cold railing. We were at the South Pole. A frigid breeze blew, and I pulled my cloak closer around my body. My armor did not help any in keeping me warm, as it was metal, which retained temperatures. Of that much I knew. The same breeze also swirled the snow on an iceberg close by. I watched as the penguins waddled around on it.

"Why do we have to leave such a scenic place?" I sighed, asking myself aloud, paying no attention to my surroundings. The penguins one by one slid off of the iceberg and into the cold water. This place was freezing. Although, we Firebenders can control our body temperatures and heat ourselves up in that kind of place, we had a limited amount that we could use. If we used too much to heat ourselves up, we could get seriously weak or even die. The fire in our blood is the source of our life. Without the fire in our blood, we have no life-the fire is part of us. And I, for certain reasons, was even weaker trying to heat myself up. I grew weak from bending, heating my body, and I grew even more weak from taking the fire from my blood; a double con for me.

"You know why we are leaving Lau." A voice behind me replied. I had been so self absorbed in my thoughts, that I hadn't even hear his shoes clang against the deck. He walked up next to me, and leaned is back onto the railing. I would have loved to see him fall over and plunge into the icy waters below, but that was just because of what happened earlier. "The Avatar has left. And we need to repair these damages that he inflicted." I turned my head to the left, and directly saw his head. His scar burned into my gaze. That flame shaped scar that constantly taunted him. I _had_ been there. It taunted me as well. I was there, but completely helpless to the situation. "Why is it _so_ nice?" His words dripped with sarcasm.

"Can't you see it?" I asked Zuko. He turned half of his body and looked out, playing my game, which wasn't much of a game really. "What do you see?"

"Well, I see a cold, snowy wasteland that's not worth fighting for. What's the big deal? It's just a whole bunch of frozen water." Zuko said, turning back, facing the other side of the deck. He was always nice, if you could describe it nice, to me, at least. It was interesting. He treated everyone else differently, when he would normally yell at people, he would just civilly talk to me. But it made sense.

"Don't you find it interesting that we do need water to survive? I mean to drink and such. And that it takes so much more fire to evaporate water than it takes water to douse fire. It's almost an imbalance. And that water chokes fire." I sated, taking a pause in between. "We always think of fire to be so strong, but really, if you look at the facts, water is stronger than fire is." I didn't even need to look at him. I knew that it was getting on his nerves.

"What are you trying to do? Teach me? You don't want to become a hypocrite, Lau. You can't teach me when you didn't even finish _primary_ school yourself." He said sharply. So what? Yeah, I didn't finish primary school, does that make me stupid! "Can't you figure that I already know that? We learned that in the final year of primary. Oh wait, you wouldn't know that because you never got that far." He taunted me. But even he knew that I didn't need the schooling to be smart. I may not be able to add numbers too well and other things like that, but who would ever need that in life? I don't have a life, a future-I never would. "You almost lecture like I figure a Waterbender would. How the elements need to balance out and how that they should not be stronger than another one." He scoffed aloud.

"If I really was a Waterbender, you would be the first person I would tell. You would be the first person who would find out. But I'm not one. I'm too violent-and I've also been bending the wrong element for 16 years. Hm…" I said, laughing in my words. I looked over to him, just standing there, looking at the wall. He shivered-he was getting cold. An awkward silence filled the air, neither of us spoke. I continued to look up at the moon, which bathed the icebergs with light-it was a full moon. Suddenly, another breeze blew, causing me to pull my cloak closer around my figure. I glanced back at Zuko, and he was still staring at the metal wall, shivering. What was he thinking about in that head of his? But…I probably didn't want to know anyway. '_Men_…' I rolled my eyes. "Zuko, you're shivering." I broke the silence. He snapped his head to me. We looked at each other eye level. We were both the same height, which made him either really short or me really tall.

"_So_, you are too." He replied stubbornly. I sent him a look of annoyance, as that wasn't my point. But I did notice, too, that I was shivering despite my cloak.

"We should go inside. There's no point in wasting energy when it's warm inside." I said sternly. He ignored me and turned his head back and looked at the wall obstinately.

"I'm warm enough. You can just go be a wimp and go inside, but I'm not. A _woman_ shouldn't be outside in this temperature anyway." Zuko said back with sarcasm, taunting because of my gender. I just sighed and sent him a glare. He knew how much I hated being a woman. I rolled my eyes again and took a breath in.

"Fine then…I guess I will go inside. Iroh will probably have something to eat ready and I'm pretty hungry. Nothing is better than hot food to warm someone up." I said, hoping to catch his attention. I didn't want him to stay outside much longer and get hypothermia or something. But I shrugged and turned my back to him. "I'll see you later then." I wrapped my cloak around me one last time and I quietly walked away. I walked halfway to the steel door and then slowed my pace.

1-2-3…I then heard the clang of his shoes against the deck. I knew he would come. My years of being around him have finally paid off. His steps were fast and agile. He walked right by me, and I quickened my pace to meet his. As soon as we reached the entrance door, he swung it open and stopped.

"Lau, you're just lucky that it worked on me this time. I won't fall for it again." Zuko stated as he walked in and I followed. As soon as I closed the door, I only felt heat, but a comfortable heat. We walked down the hallways and a few stairs, which finally led to the upper galley. As we stepped through the open door, the aroma of food hit our noses. It smelled delicious. There, in front of us, sitting at the table, was Iroh, drinking tea-like usual. Zuko and I took our usual seats and sat down, myself forgetting to remove my cloak.

"Good evening Zuko, Zeilau." Iroh greeted us. He always called me by my full first name. No one called me that. Not even Dentou or Kai or Gimu. Mei did, but that was because she always had. I nodded slightly in recognition and Zuko just sat there in all his princely glory. Neither of us said anything for awhile and the air was quiet. Some servants came in bringing us some food, placing bowls in front of us. I nodded a small thanks. I never really liked to have servants. When I was back on Azon and when I was with my parents, our servants were treated very nicely. We paid them quite a larger wage than most would receive. When I was younger, we didn't have servants and I learned the value of working for what I wanted and working for money to pay for things I wanted. I learned from that-learned that you won't always get everything on a silver platter. I learned the great values I would need in life.

"Is something wrong? Neither of you are as talkative as you normally are." We didn't speak, almost like if neither of us wanted to break the silence. But Zuko, with his high-strung anger, spoke out first, beating me.

"Nothing is wrong, Uncle! You don't need to ask! Why do you care anyway?" Zuko snapped back, his volume quieter than normal. "We were just talking up on deck, that's all!" Iroh seemed to accept it as an answer and didn't object to it.

"Ah…another quiet meal with my favorite company." Iroh responded peacefully, closing his eyes as he took a sip of tea. Iroh was like my father on board. He watched over me and made sure I was ok. But I didn't believe that a 16 year old, almost 17 year old needed someone to look out for them. I needed no one to do that-I could do it myself. But I never said that to him as I was grateful for him. After that, another awkward silence filled the air. I continued to eat, not paying any attention to them. Then the silence seemed to be deafening to me and I had to break it.

"So…Zuko, when are we reaching the next port?" I asked him, then taking another spoonful of soup. He swallowed then answered.

"We should anchor in the next harbor by noon tomorrow. There's only one problem-the port's controlled my Zhao, and you know the rest. We won't be able to go around him. He will probably see him and he'll stop us. Don't let him mess with you Lau. If he does, he'll have to answer with me." Zuko responded, his voice hinting a little anger.

"Oh, thanks. I'm _so_ much safer knowing that you'll have to mess him up for me. I could do it better than you could." I mumbled sarcastically under my breath. He sent me a small glare and left the topic alone.

* * *

The walls and floors were steel, a balckish color too. My only furniture was a small dresser-like cabinet, a small table and chair, a chest, and a mat and base. There was also a door which led to a bathroom. Various candles and lanterns lined my room, which gave off a red glow. Around the room, various stacks of music littered the floor, cascading off of the table. On top of my dresser was a case, which contained one of my most prized possessions, my father's violin. 

I walked to my mat and from under it; I pulled out a bound book and a charcoal pen. I got onto the mat and sat down, my back against the wall. I put the book and the pen on my lap, admiring them. I used charcoal instead of the normal ink because the ink was too messy to write with, and I also had never learned the correct way to write with a calligraphy pen. I only knew the way I picked up from my uncle for using calligraphy. I picked up my book. It was a journal that my mother had given to me a long time ago when I was little. It was golden leather with my name in black on it. Luckily it didn't have my full first name as it was outrageously long-all names were. There were also three symbols in it-the Nation's symbol, the bending symbol, and a symbol of a lost meaning. I was ready to write in it now. I skipped the first page and opened to the second page. I picked up my charcoal pen and started to write.

_Juugojuugo/ San/ Nijuushi_

_I have finally decided that it is due time that I record in this journal. This journal was a gift to me from my mom on my 8th birthday. The year in which I received this, my life changed. _

_I am Zeilau Sei, which is not my complete name as it is too long, daughter of Tora and Kumo; Tora, meaning Tiger and Kumo, meaning Spider. They are probably few of the most respected people in the Fire Nation. My parents are nobles, my mom by birth, and my dad by marriage. When I was about eight years old, I went to live with my aunt, Kaini, who lives near the palace in Azon. I still hold the title of Noble, even though I know that many of the citizens of the Nation want to strip me of that title._

_My family holds a few secrets that cannot be disclosed to anyone. If I were to tell anyone, I would be making my death record. We have held this and one more secret for generations when it started with my great-grandfather. I have always wondered about his side of the family, as no one ever talks about it. All the people that knew about this secret from my great-grandfather's time are all long dead and no one knows now what happened. Not even Zuko knows, and I am almost afraid of what will happen if or when he finds out._

_Zuko had been my friend for as long as I can remember. He actually accepted me for who I was, which I always have valued. He is probably one of the only people that have never judged me, except for a few people. I still remember that small playful boy he used to be. I know that that little boy is still inside of him, but I also know that it isn't going to show up anytime, if at all, soon. We basically banded together as we both didn't fit in too much. Zuko still had his tongue when he was little and I was just myself. We started to hang out and became quick friends. I don't remember much of the Fire Lady as she rarely came out and I had only seen a few times. All I can remember was her black hair, so long and shiny. It is forever etched into my memory. I had never really like the Fire Lord, but I wouldn't dare say that on land, but I have become a little more daring on sea, and have stated it already, much to the disapprovement of Iroh who said I shouldn't talk like that. We have been stuck on this ship for 2 years now. I came when I was 14 and about a half, Zuko a little older than 14, but still younger than me. _

_And…I am overjoyed with gladness. I am saying that sarcastically by the way. Tomorrow is Music Night-I am going to die. As much as I love music and singing, I hate Music Night. It reminds me so much of my parents. My father taught me how to play his violin and my mothe-_

Zuko barged into the room, scaring me half to death. I quickly shut the book and hid it on my lap, trying to hide its cover from him. I hated that no one ever knocked. I didn't knock either but still, it would help a lot. He stepped over the stacked music extravagantly, almost as if they would burn his skin if he got near them. "Yes? What do you want?" I asked him; not meaning to have the coldness in my voice-it just came out.

"You know that we're going into the port…you are going to be in charge. Don't allow them off this ship. I don't trust Zhao or his men. They might be plotting." Zuko informed, like if I trusted Zhao and was barely bringing this to my knowledge. I wasn't stupid. I would finally be in control-it never happened and I was ready to seize my chance.

"Ok…sure…thanks. But you do know that the men won't listen to me. They don't like me and they'll just blow me off." I stated matter-of-factly.

"They listen to _me_." Zuko taunted me daintily. I rolled my eyes lightly.

"Yeah, cause you scare the shit out of them." I mumbled under my breath, inaudible.

"Just give them a reason to listen to you. Don't let them push you around." He stated simply. I hated it when he did that-he wouldn't just tell me what to do, he just gave me the hints. "We'll probably be stuck here a week, make yourself comfortable." He said, then exited, still stepping high over the 'flesh-burning' music. I didn't want the crew to hate me, but it was going to be interesting for me to do this. I picked up my book and resumed where I left off.

…_mother taught me to sing. Now, here on the ocean, I wish they were here. It's really hard to be the only female on board. What I would do just for another woman here with me. But, I am a warrior, and I can suck it up. I will never show that I'm weak-I had vowed._

I closed it and reached under and placed it in its home, under my mat. I stood up and walked to my dresser and picked up the case and brought it to my mat. I set it down on my mat and opened the latch. I picked up the violin and the bow. I shut the case and walked out of my room. As soon as I reached the deck, I walked to the farthest tip of the stern where the helmsman couldn't see me. I lifted the violin to my chin and played the first six notes of the song. I eventually lost myself in the melody and the memories of my father playing the exact same song.

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**For all of you who don't know...I have made this story into a play form of format. It will be in Scenes as chappies and Acts as parts. And Elegies are like prologues and epilogues. I also called the Fire Nation capitol Azon. Cause I read a fic that called it that and I liked it and it stuck. Also, I will give cookies to whoever can guess what six notes Lau plays. It's one of my favorite songs of last year and they are of a pretty famous song, if you like broadway musicals. Well, one last thing...please review. Britt and I would really love to read them and we want to know what you guys think about it. A few words in a review is all it takes, but we would really love long reviews! .**

**-Rika and Meow**

**Preview: _Scene 2: The Interrogation Begins_**


	2. The Interrogation Begins

**3-29-06**

**Wuz up? And once again, I am back. I am happyto be updating again. I really need Britt to write one of these...you haven't met her yet...except for our friends. Well, I am here to show you chappie 2 of 20. Yes, I am on page 13 of chappie 19 and ther will be one more chappie in this Act before Act 2. It will be very explosive. And since we are going over easy stuff in Algebra right now, that means that I can write then. . I have been working really hard and as soon as I am done with this Act, I will probably write the Elegy for Act 2 then work on my SW story alot more until I have typed till chappie 10 or so. So I'll rotate the stories then. Well, I'll stop this unusually short AN and get to the story. Sure...enjoy...and please review. I would really love you if you did.**

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Scene 2: The Interrogation Begins 

**Lau's POV**

"Grr…" I mumbled as I flopped over on my side. I had to wake up. It was around 8: something in the morning-the usual time I woke up. I reluctantly sat up. I sat on my mat, looking apathetically gazing at my armor. My armor wasn't like anyone else's, as I was the only noble on board and everyone had different cuts. It was black, compared to the dark red of the other armor; mine was jet black with gold trim. The stomach plate was just as long as the others though, with no difference. On the shoulder plates, my family's insignia was present, stamped in gold on the metal. My family's insignia was our surname and the symbol of the torch. On the floor were my leg and arm bracers which were also black, but with gold around the edges. Sitting on top of the armor was my helmets. I had one, which was cut in the style of a noble's and one cut in the style of a normal soldier. The one in cut of the normal soldier had an interchangeable face plate, used when I need to keep my identity a secret. I rarely wore my helmets, but I did on occasion. My leg armor was lighter than the rest of it, offering light protection. I fit the appearance of a man more than one of a woman. The crew always made fun of me because of that. But it made no difference to me.

I rolled to my side and stood up. I rubbed my eyes as I walked to my chest and opened it. I slid out of my red sleeping-yukata and took out a fresh bind. I quickly and silently bound my chest, flattening it. I folded my yukata and took out a pair of pants and a shirt. I slipped them on, clothing myself. I placed the yukata in the chest and I closed it, walking to my dresser. From on top of it, I grabbed two strips of cloth. I pushed up my sleeves and revealed my wrists wrapped in cloth. The cloths went from my wrist to my elbow. I slowly unwound my right wrist and dropped the cloth to the floor. I quickly wrapped it again, covering my light colored skin below. I pulled my sleeve down covering the wrap. I grabbed a bracer from the floor and clamped it around my lower arm. I then slowly reached for the wrap on my left wrist. I hesitantly unwound the cloth, allowing it fall to the floor, gathering in a heap on the ground. I looked at my wrist in silence. I gazed vacantly at it, looking at the discolored, light pink slashes up my arm. I winced and looked away as I quickly wrapped it back up and I slipped down my sleeve and put on a bracer. I also put on my calve braces and slipped on my shoes and I ran out of my room, only to quickly grab my sash and tie it in a knot around my waist. I was late.

* * *

"Lau, where have you been? Were you even in your room? I knocked on it at 7:50 and you wouldn't answer." Zuko exclaimed as soon as I walked into the galley. Couldn't he at least give me the peace of silence? 

"Wow Zuko, you impress me. You actually knocked. I didn't know you offered that service." I teased him as I sat down at the table with him and Iroh. He just gave me a curt look and didn't respond.

"I learned to knock in the morning. After that one time I came in and your yukata was open at the bust, I have learned to knock." He said, almost blushing. Yeah, a while ago, he came in to tell me something, but I had my yukata not all the way closed because I was about to bind my chest, he saw almost everything. _I_ wasn't too embarrassed, but I knew _he_ was.

"I, like normal people, was asleep. I, unlike you, need sleep to not be grumpy. Do you not get any sleep?" I asked him in more of a sour mood. I was slowly starting the day off wrong. But, I would get over it and get into a better mood. This was the time that I hated having opposite characteristics. And I also hated not being a morning person.

"Very funny Lau, shut up." Zuko stated shortly, giving me a snarl as he talked. I looked to Iroh for a moment, who was enjoying his tea-figured.

"If you two are done arguing I have an announcement to…announce." Iroh cut in, shutting us both up. I sighed, knowing that it was going to be about something irrelevant-like always. Zuko grumbled, not even wanting to know what he was going to say. "I have decided to post pone Music Night, which was originally scheduled for tonight, until we get back on sea." I exhaled sharply. Good, there would be no Music Night soon. But, I knew its return would be eminent.

"That's too bad, Uncle." Zuko responded with false sympathy. I was surprised. Normally by then, he would have asked me to-

"Zeilau, why don't you come this time when we have Music Night? Even Zuko comes. He may not participate, but he at least comes. You should-you might enjoy yourself." Iroh persuaded but to no avail. His talking didn't have too much influence on me though. I had already explained myself numerous times-too many actually.

"No, you can just enjoy yourselves without me. You know what performing means to me-I'm not fully recovered yet. And I don't plan on being around music more than just by myself. I perform for myself alone-no one else." I stated firmly, not wanting a rebuttal from either one of them. I was getting frustrated with him for asking me.

Everyone then grew into an awkward silence, knowing that music was very touchy for me. We continued our meal until it was about 9:00. We stood up and left the servants to their jobs. I walked solemnly out of the galley. I closed the door behind me and we stopped in the hallway.

"Zuko, Iroh, I guess I'll see you later. Good luck." I said, bidding farewell. I watched them as they walked further into the hall towards the exit of the ship. I had a bad feeling about this palce. I didn't like it, but I didn't say anything to anyone – I was strong. And besides, Zuko would think I was a coward. I took one last glance down the hall and I walked away, heading for the hull of the ship. We, the crew and personnel, stayed there during our free time as we had nothing else to do and for the simple fact that Zuko didn't go down there too much. I didn't go there usually as I was normally busy with something else or just not wanting any company.

I walked onto the deck in the hull, observing the men in their leisure time. Some were playing a card game, others were playing pikaria, and some were just plain talking and laughing with each other. Soon, not too long after, some one noticed me and the room grew quiet, and everyone turned to me. I remained silent, just looking at them.

"Alright," I addressed them. "I won't be giving any orders, but the only order for you, is to stay here on this ship. If I find out that anyone of you have set one foot off this ship before consulting me will have to answer this in the normal fashion." I said, only to receive apathetic looks from the men. "You will face me in the steps the rules clearly state."

"We will have to face _you_? That's all?" Lieutenant Ji scoffed to the man next to him. A few people laughed with him – at me. "I think we can handle that." I didn't say anything back, but I stormed down the stairs down to the floor of the hull. I walked up to where Ji was seated at. I looked at him with no expression: he did the same to me. I hated when people questioned or taunted me – I couldn't stand it. It was from experiences as a child – things that happened to me during my childhood that scarred me for life. I then reached out and viciously grabbed his short hair, pulling his head back, his chin to my face.

"I will not stand for that, Ji. I am your superior officer for the moment, and come to think of it, for my life I am your superior. You will listen to me with no questions asked." I hissed fiercely at him, speaking through my barred teeth. When he threw his barred teeth back at me, I just threw his head to the side, letting go of his hair. "Let that be a reminder to everyone not to oppose me." All the men were speechless. I had never acted in that way nor did I ever think I would. But it felt good. But the crew was too quiet to be afraid or in shock of me. I turned around to see what they were in shock of – ten men. One was the commanding officer as he was in the front.

"Rumor is, is that Zuko has caught the Avatar." The man said slowly, too casually for comfort. He was up to something and I wanted to know what it was. I decided to play his game – a dangerous game.

"That's the rumor, but I wouldn't know. Even if he did, what's it to you?" I asked, playing along, when I knew that I really shouldn't. I didn't know what I was getting myself, and everyone into.

"I was just curious. Why wouldn't you know? Aren't you his right hand man? You have been near Zuko a lot." He stated, looking at his nails. How did he know that I was around Zuko? Was he a stalker? Had he been watching us?

"Yes, I am his right hand man, but how would you know that without watching us closely? And if you're just curious, why do you have ten men with you?" I asked stepping closer to him, adding pressure, making him take a few steps back on instinct.

"It is posted about. There is a warning stating the prince's banishment and the terms of it. And, it also stated that no one is to aid him, his crew, or his side men. You were listed as one of them, next to General Iroh." He said egotistic. I raised an eyebrow. I didn't know that. So did that mean that every one in the Fire Nation knew about my helping Zuko? "My men were just with me so I took them along with me. But back to the point – _did_ Zuko capture the Avatar?" I almost scoffed in inconceivable belief. Did he seriously think that we would just tell him like that?

"I am not to share that information. I am not saying yes or no. You have no reason for the information so I will not disclose it to you." I said, picking up the defense. I was taking my own back since no one would – Zuko would have, but he wasn't there.

"You _will_ tell me the answer. Either that or face the consequences." He said, taking a defensive pose, of what looked like he was ready to fight me.

"Let me guess…you'll fight me." I said, taunting him. He wouldn't stand a chance fighting against me, but he didn't know that. I saw his topknot and knew he was a Master, he probably noticed that I didn't wear a topknot because I never liked them, so my topknot was near my neck, making it a lowknot. "It will take a lot to get through me." He took a few steps to me, but I stood my ground – I didn't move an inch. He reached for my head and before I could move, he, like I had done to Ji, grabbed my knot pulling my head back. He pulled my hair farther back, causing my scalp to throb from the pressure.

"For the _last time_ – did Zuko capture the Avatar?" He said right in front of my face. He started to dig his nails into my scalp but I wasn't sure if it was intentional or not.

"Like I said-" I gritted out between my teeth only to be interrupted by a crewman.

"Yes! Yes he did!" A younger crewman exclaimed. I looked towards him with an icy gaze. I endured all of that just for him to spill the beans!

"Elaborate!" He yelled, ordering _my_ men. How dare he order _my_ men!

"Prince Zuko had apprehended the Avatar but somehow the Avatar managed to escape him. He left and we are still looking for him." The crewman spilt his guts, stepping forward towards the man. Now, I was really mad. How could he betray Zuko like that? In an instant, I raised my foot slowly and using all my body weight, I stomped it down on his foot, standing on my foot. He instantly stepped back in pain, pulling out the ribbon keeping my hair back. My hair fell past my shoulders as he stumbled back.

"A woman? You're a – woman?" He stuttered, almost as if he was astonished. It really shouldn't have been too big of a thing as women were allowed into the navy and army, but we weren't allowed any too high of a position. We couldn't get past Lieutenant.

"Yeah, I am. Now get off my ship! Now!" I said, calmly but sternly. He looked at me queerly, but ordered his men to fall out. As he walked away, he let my ribbon he was holding slowly fall to the floor. I just watched him coldly as he left. I walked to my ribbon and slowly bent down to pick it up, but I just put it inside of my armor, leaving my hair down.

"You are to leave me be. If anything is so important as to bother me, someone better be dying or dead. If anyone sets a foot off this ship, you are a dead man and the vultures will eat well tonight. As you were." I said coldly as I walked away from them, not wanting to see them. I was going to my room – to be alone for awhile.

* * *

**Well, you got to see the other side of Lau. And I'm not going to give away too many spoilers, but all I'll say is that you will see that side of her again-sometime... Well, I hope ya'll liked it and now, I will sign off and let you be.**

**-Rika and Meow **

**Preview:_Scene 3: A Plea and a Warning_**


	3. A Plea and a Warning

**4-6-06**

**OMG! Lau is a girl! No.phffting.way! Yes, really Sam, she is. Sam like was shocked to see that Lau was a girl, maybe it was surprising, maybe it wasn't I don't know as I know the complete story. muwhaha! Well, I don't have chappie 4 typed out yet and I might need to get a few of my friends to type it for me as I will be in San Antonio this weekend. But I do have chappie 18 typed...why 18 and not 4, I don't know, but it's done. I also don't have too much extra time as I have One Act Play to practice for, but I will make time. I am on page 5 of chappie 20, and it's going to be explosive-it's the finale of Act 1. Yeah, all my friends agree that it is HUGE! Well, at least those who know what happens in it. And Britt, I want you to introduce yourself sometime as they have no idea who you are! See ya at the bottom of the page and thank you that one person who put this on their favs. I am too lazy to go and check your name, but thank you. And please, please, REVIEW!**

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Scene 3: A Plea and a Warning 

**Lau's POV**

I studied the head, checking for imperfections. My father had taught me well – very well. I took out a vial from a pouch and emptied a few drops of it into a well on the side of the head. I closed the end with my finger, trapping the air, pushing the liquid into the head. I slipped the vial back into my bag and set it on the floor. I looked at my arrow. The feathers were of Ribbon Hawks – blood red with a black stripe through them. I checked the head one last time and it passed my test. I knocked the arrow and held my bow at my side. I was working on speed accuracy. I was already almost able to give the YuuYan a run for their money, but I needed to get better to beat them. I spun around and quickly raised my bow, shooting towards a target I set up across the deck. It hit the target square center.

"Lau! Watch where you're shooting!" Zuko yelled from the doorway. I had 'conveniently' set up the target right next to the door. I looked back at him, his face ghastly white.

"Zuko – did you realize that I could have killed you?" I asked him loudly from the other end, jogging to him. Zuko reached out and grabbed the arrow by the shaft and tugged. "Zuko! No don't!" But it was too late. He had pulled it from the target. He looked at its tip. I sighed in annoyance.

"How could this thing have killed me? It doesn't even have a tip!" He pointed out the obvious. I rolled my eyes, laughing in my mind at his ignorance. I took out a dagger that I always slid in my belt when I was shooting. I stabbed the target where the tip was at and dug the head out. I took it out and put my dagger back. I held the tip up.

"This, Zuko, Prince-of-the-misconceived-obvious, is an Assassin Head. It could have killed you because I fill the tip of it with poison." I explained as I dripped what little poison was left in it, onto my palm. As soon as Zuko saw it, I wiped it onto my pants.

"But why did the head come off? It doesn't do anything then." Zuko said, still examining the shaft.

"Because, it is made to do that. The thorn is attached with thin twine. When someone tried to pull it out, the head detaches and gets pushed further into the victim." I said, and stopped explaining into fuller detail when I saw him grimace at it. "And before you ask, the poison kills within a few minutes, depending on how diluted it is. It's a complex paralysis conjure. This – luckily was very diluted. Maybe would have left you numb for a few hours or more. But the biggest affect of a non-diluted batch is that you get a fever quickly and your bending ability disappears."

"That's…interesting…" Zuko said, trying to find the right words. "Well, luckily, we should be out of this port in a few days." I shifted uncomfortably. He held out his hand and offered me my arrow back. I took it and held it at my side awkwardly. He didn't respond for a moment, almost unsure of what to do or say.

"I-I should be up in the helm. Go into port if you need to occupy yourself." He said eventually. He walked away back into the ship and down the hall and disappeared. I dropped the arrow into my quiver, fletching up and I slung my bow over my neck. I walked to the side of the boat and looked onto the water. I saw my reflection, one of nobody important. Why was I like this? What had made me this way – hiding what I really felt, what I really endured, but no letting it out, not using it? I punched a flame into the water that hit the top and dissolved into steam. I looked down and frowned. This is what I have become – I can never change now.

I started to walk back inside when I felt something on my shoulder. I turned my head to see a Ribbon Hawk on my shoulder. I took him off of me and held him. I walked quicker down the hall to my room, but I first went to the stables. There were our 5 Kimono Rhinos, our few messenger birds, and our 2 horselks. I walked in and as soon as I was in sight, my elk, Yuuga, whinnied at me. He was bay and had 2 long, light brown horns sticking out of his head near his ears. His black mane and tail stood out against his brown coat. His white breast also stood out against his coat. He had a black nose on the end of his muzzle which was usually pushed against me, looking for treats or food. I stroked his muzzle lightly and went to our cage of hawks. There were two others – one of my own, and one of the royal family. I took the message off of the bird and left him in the cage, allowing him to rest and took out mine. I perched her on my shoulder. Her name was Touitso – unity – and she was really my aunt's. I walked back to my room with Toui and sat at my table, Toui staying on my shoulder, looking down as if he was a guard bird. It was from my aunt. She always sealed messages to me in wax, a way of knowing if someone has intercepted the message. I opened the scroll after I broke the seal. Inside was my aunt's frantic handwriting.

_Dearest Lau,_

_I am glad to hear that you are doing fine and so is your journey. But I am not so enjoyed as to you asking for a report of the status here. Things are not going so well. Ozai is growing stronger everyday as the comet nears. He has gotten worse and so have the cities. We are falling into ruin – poverty is hitting wide-spread, towns are becoming run down, we almost don't have enough to eat as we have to fund this war. I fear that someone my have to intervene soon. I haven't left my estate for a few weeks in fear that they know as my suspicion grows of them. I know what they are thinking about us and it isn't good. I am in fear of your life, my life, and your uncle. Watch out for yourself and watch your back. I cannot afford to lose you – we cannot afford it. Please stay safe._

_-Kai_

She was worried very worried. She normally wrote to me in letters or syllables, but this time she wrote in symbols – she almost never did that. No one knows about us except her, Uncle, and my other uncle – Dentou! I never had trusted him and I wouldn't put it past him that he did tell on us. But I knew, deep inside, that he would never snitch on his sister's family – on his niece.

* * *

I tied the scroll onto Toui's leg and let her into the sky on the side of the ship. I watched her as she flew away, disappearing into the horizon. I sighed heavily and leaned against the railing. I missed my aunt greatly, as she was my second mother. 

"What seems to be the matter Zeilau?" Iroh asked, walking up from behind me. He walked next to me, and laid his hand on my shoulder, trying to comfort me.

"It's Kai. I'm worried about her. She said that things are getting pretty run-down back at home." I said, still staring out into the ocean. "But it's nothing. It will pass."

"She will be fine. Don't worry about her. Kaini is a smart person; she won't let anything happen to her." He said, trying to comfort me. I sighed again.

"Thanks. I think that I'll just go back inside now." I said, turning away from him dismally, turning to the door leading back into the ship.

I walked the dark halls, wandering aimlessly. Kai made me worried. What if she wasn't ok? What if she was in mortal danger? I wouldn't be there to protect her. I would let her down. I let her down by going on this journey – it was selfish of me, only doing what I wanted to, even when she begged me to stay back at the estate. If anything was to happen to her, it would be my fault – my fault alone.

* * *

**Kai's POV**

"Lau, please be safe. Please." I begged to myself. I was a fool for allowing her to go on that ship. How could I let her slip between my fingers? If anything happened to her while she was away, it would be my fault – my fault entirely. It is not fitting for a woman to sail with only men. But she did take after her mother a lot and her mother did sail with men too. Her uncledid send Tierm to watch after he too. She wanted to go though – she wanted to help her friend – one of her only ones. She would help him no matter the cost and consequences. I looked over the horizon, watching the setting sun. The sky was a beautiful red; it was going to be a good day tomorrow. Really clear and bright. We could use some light upon these dirty streets.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a hawk fly. By the patterns on her wings, I recognized it as Touisto – Lau's hawk. She swooped and gracefully perched on my shoulder. I petted her head lightly and perched her on my arm. I walked back to the house, grabbing a lantern from the veranda as I walked into my dark home. I sat down at the table and took the message off of Toui's leg. I broke the wax seal on the front, allowing me to read her message.

_Aunt Kai_

_Not much is going on here besides Zuko's routine rants. I read what you wrote and I am worried too. I am very cautious of Ozai. We don't hear much of what is going on back at home as we do not have much of a connection back to the Fire Nation. Kai, do be careful. Don't do anything too extraordinary. If you have been staying at the estate for a while, it may be wise to contact Gi and ask him and Mei to stay with you. I don't like the fact that you are alone and since you think that they are getting suspicious of us, I would contact him as soon as possible and ask him to hurry and come. I am deathly worried about you. I send my protection._

_-Lau_

I then heard a knock at the door. Paranoid, I took the letter, and let it catch the flame of the lantern. The former message fell to the table as ashes. I slowly got up and walked to the main door. I opened it and there were the last people that I ever wanted to see.

"Master Kaini, you are under the arrest for conspiracy of plotting against the Fire Nation and speaking confidentially of the Fire Lord." The lead man said. I gulped as he grabbed my wrists and thrusted me forward.

"Lau – we're done. It's over. We lost the battle, but _you_ can still win." I whispered quietly, praying that she would make it.

* * *

**Well, hm...what happens to Kai? What does Lau do about this? I don't know why I am asking you this anyway as you don't have a phffting clue, only Britt and I do...muwhaha! lol and so do a few people. Anyway, just review and I hope you really liked this filler, andyet very important chappie.**

**-Rika**

**Preview: _Scene 4: Dance of the Dragon Maiden Part 1: She's Back_**


	4. Dance of the Dragon Maiden Part 1

**I hope you like this chappie and I hope that more people will start to read this story. Anyway, hear my excuse for its tardiness at the end. Enjoy!**

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Scene 4: Dance of the Dragon Maiden Part 1: She's Back

**Lau's POV**

"You wanted to see me, Iroh?" I asked quietly as I walked into his room and closed the door behind me. It was weird. I never usually went into Iroh's room and I never had a reason to go into his room, but this time, he had called me. He said that he wanted to show me something and tell me some things. I wondered what it was all about.

"Yes, I did. I wanted to ask…no, _inform_ you of something. Here," He said, holding out a package of paper tied with twine, a knot carefully made in the center of the bundle. "These will come in handy to you, I assume." I nervously untied the knot, not really wanting to know what was on the papers or in them. I kept the papers in place, but quickly got worried. 'No…he couldn't. That's next week…it's too short of a time…its improper!' I pulled up the first paper and glanced at it. Lord God Agni, strike me down! It was – it was exactly what I thought it was. Please, God, just kill me now, save me from this horror. He wouldn't do this to me…or yes he would.

"Iroh, you can't be serious about this." I said, half laughing. But my nervous laughter seized when I realized that he really _wasn't_ joking, he was just standing there. "Oh, come on! You _can't_ be serious!"

"Yes, I am serious." He said quietly almost proud of making me fall to the floor dead, where I was standing. I was just looking at him incredulously.

"But I can't! I can't." I muttered under my breath, taking a few steps away from the man that I once considered the closest thing to a father on this ship. "I can't do the Dance of the Dragon. It's…improper for a Noble." I tried to argue with all I was worth, but I knew that my attempts were in vain as nothing could ever change Iroh's mind, he was steadfast. Man, if only I had some tea on me.

"But my dear, you are the only female, not to mention single, Firebender on board." He declared, pointing out the obvious reason of why I was the only person able to the do the event. It was not looking too good for my part. I winced at the fact that I knew that I wouldn't be able to get out of it.

"But Nobles aren't supposed to do it! It is as improper as improper can get!" I protested, but to once again no avail. I sighed and just looked at him half-defeated, but I still had a tiny bit of fight left in me.

"Improper or not, you are going to perform it, Noble Zeilau Sei. You have exactly one week to prepare." Iroh chirped cheerfully. I just scowled. There went the last of the fight in me. I turned away, knowing that I wasn't going to get anywhere by arguing with him. I closed the door loudly behind me; I didn't slam it though, just loud enough to prove my mood of his decision to make me do the dance. I walked to my room, mumbling words to myself, not caring who heard or passed me.

When I reached my room, I tossed the bundle of papers on my small table, making some of the music on it fly to the sides, mixing with other stacks of papers. I sighed in defeat – it was not my day. I took a seat on the floor, pushing away some intruding paper, to make myself space to sit. I looked at the costume design and instantly winced at it. It looked exactly what I remembered it to be – it looked almost identical to the one I had seen worn by a girl when I went with my parents once before when I was little. I remembered the dance too – strong, yet subtle bending, and _very_ seductive. At that moment, I just wished for my life to end, so I would not have to go through with it and that maybe Iroh would finally have some shame in something. But it didn't happen though.

I spread out the papers with the costume design on them. I would need a lot of fabric – fabric that was nowhere on this ship. We would have to stop at a market. We were stopping at a port the next day…Iroh probably had the whole thing planned…

'Great, I would have to dance seductively in front of my crew that already had minimal respect for me. It wouldn't change for the better if they saw me like that.' I said in my head as I continued to look at the pages with the choreography on them. 'Why can't I just die right now? I would be happier – a lot happier. I would be with the ones that I missed most dearly.'

* * *

"Zuko, I need to go into town to get some…things. I should return a few hours at the most. Don't leave without me. If you do, I'll-" I threatened him, only to get rudely interrupted by him. 

"Sure, whatever, Lau. Just be back sometime _today_ or I will leave you here." He warned, only to get a wave of my hand dismissing him as I walked down the gangplank onto solid land.

The town of the port was small. It had one simple main area which consisted of houses and some shops. The roads were all dirt, packed with overuse. As I walked into the town, I looked over my shoulder and made sure that my bow and quiver were strung over my shoulder still and they were. As I got closer to the market, the aroma of fresh-cooked food wavered to my nose, making my stomach growl with hunger. I contained my longing for food and fixed my mind on the real reason for me to go into the town, for cloth and a few other things, not food.

It took me awhile, but I got all the cloth and cosmetics, to my horror, that I needed. I did get some astonished looks my way, but I sent them off with an icy glare and most people left me alone. I had found out that a smith lived on the outskirts of town, where I could find some bronze. That was exactly where I was heading when I heard someone yell out.

"Don't you touch my sister! Leave her alone!" A young voice cried. I looked around and I noticed that the yell was coming from inside the woods. I was about ready to dismiss is and keep walking on as it had nothing to do with me, until that voice sunk in. It sounded familiar. Then it clicked to me – it was the sound of that Water Tribe boy – the one with the ponytail. That made me a little more curious. I took from the main path and headed into the thickly foliaged woods.

I stopped in some bushes and set my package down. I hid behind some bushes and I looked and sure enough, there were the Water Tribe kids – the girl and the boy. Three thugs trying to rob them surrounded them, but one seemed to be really interested in the girl, which even grossed me out. I knew what he was trying to do and I didn't like it for the fact that no one was supposed to treat a woman that way. I crouched down low in the bushes and I took my bow off of my back. I fluidly grabbed three arrows out of my quiver and held them. I reached to get a vial from my belt, but I stopped, knowing that I could kill without poison.

I nocked one arrow onto the twine and I pulled the string back to my ear. I looked over the bush and aimed at one of the men, the one closest to the girl. I got aim-center and I let the arrow fly through the air and hit its target – exactly square in the man's lungs, with a strong shot from my longbow. He fell the ground dead in a matter of a few seconds. The men looked around, not knowing where I was. I could sense the fear radiating out of them. In a matter of a few more seconds, I let another arrow whiz into another man's chest, right in his heart. He fell to the dirt quicker than my first target. I smiled at my accuracy and lowered my bow. I wanted to have some fun with the last one. He looked around nervously, scanning all the bushes and trees, but missing me in the bush closer to him. He went back to the kids, dismissing me, which was his biggest and fatal mistake. He would learn not to mess with women. I dropped my arrow back into my quiver, not wanting to shoot him – he deserved a worse death. I reached over the bush and punched out at him and sent a stream of fire at him, easily knocking him to the ground. I walked out of the bushes and kicked another flame at him and then effortlessly took another arrow out of my quiver, nocked it, and aimed it at him. Then, when I was ready to shoot, the girl stopped me.

* * *

**Katara's POV**

"No! Don't kill him!" I yelled to the man with the bow, about ready to shoot. He turned his head towards me and I saw his hair loose down at his neck. It was a dark brown, almost black. He had a rather softer face though. His pale skin that was not as light as that prince's, contrasted greatly with the color of his armor and his hair, clearly distinguishing him as a member of the Fire Nation. I wondered if he knew that he was protecting Water Tribe people – maybe he was on our side. "He doesn't deserve to die like that! He's hurt enough!" He just looked at me with a look of shock, almost like if he wanted to kill the man. He gazed back at the man on the ground with disgust. He raised his leg and kicked out a stream of fire right next to his head, barely missing him, missing him on purpose. He sent a nasty look at him.

"She has saved you, you are alive by her mercy and by the fact that I actually listened to her. If it was up to me you would have been dead already! Leave now! Leave before I change my mind and decide to murder you right where you lay." He said coldly, instilling fear in the man and in me too. Something was strange about him. He acted like if he had killed someone before and didn't care if more blood stained his hands. But who from the Fire Nation didn't have blood on their hands? "Give them anything you took from them and get out of here!" He watched the man dig out our money from his pockets and hastily get away from the Firebender. The Firebender's arrow was still pointed at the thug until he was out of sight. Him still was pointing his arrow at the man when he was quite far away made me wonder how skilled this person was in archery. Was he that good that he could still kill him from that distance?

"Why?" I asked him simply. He turned around quickly at the sound of me. I could feel his gaze on me as his grey eyes looked at me. They almost looked golden at the same time, like if when they were in the sunlight, they were golden, but everywhere else, they were grey.

"Why, _what_?" He asked me just as coldly as he talked to the thug.

"W-Why did you save us? You didn't have to do that." I stammered, probably sounding like a complete idiot to that Fire Nation person, who had probably gone to school ever since he was young.

"Because…" He started; only to pause momentarily, then sigh. "I don't know. I guess it was the right thing to do, and I would want someone to help me if I were in that position. No one should treat a woman like that." His voice seemed to fill with sadness. His voice sounded like if he was in that position, like we were, sometime before, or someone he loved.

"You would just be able to kick their butt if you were where we were. You just kicked their butts like so easily." Sokka said, amazed, but not happy at the fact that it was a Firebender he was praising. "They would be dead before they would do anything to you."

"I probably wouldn't have been able to. Bad luck and stupid decisions seem to follow me where ever I go. Knowing me, that would happen." He said, turning away slightly, stepping a little closer to Sokka, who tensed up in reaction. He backed off, and took a little closer look at my brother, then turned back to me.

"What side are you on? You do know that you just saved Water people." I said only to get nudged by Sokka who whispered to 'shut up because maybe the Firebender didn't realize who we were'.

"I'm not on a side. I don't have a side. Choosing sides split nations and people, and personally, I don't need that right now." He said, his words full of wisdom that I never thought I would hear coming from a Fire Nation citizen. "Not all people of the Fire Nation are not like Ozai, not even _his son_ was like that."

"You know the prince that tried to capture Aang?" I exclaimed, backing away from him, wondering if he had connections with him. He almost was laughing at me; he just had this grin on his face.

"Zuko? Yeah I know him. He's a friend of mine. He's a lot nicer once you get to know him, but he still is very moody. He never used to be the way he is now though. It's very disappointing actually, to me to me at least." He said quietly, looking at the ground. He gave me the feeling that he was really sad about the way the prince, Zuko, was now. What did he mean that he wasn't the way he was now?

"Well, I'm Katara and this is my brother, Sokka. It's rare to meet a nice Firebender." I said warmly, bowing to him. I never had thought that I would bow to a Firebender on my own accord. It was strange to do, awkward.

"Whoever said that I was 'nice'? You just caught me in a better mood than I'm normally in." He mumbled the last part. He was really strange. His moods changed quickly. He was happy and friendly just a minute ago, and now he was cold. "If you want to meet friendly, you should meet Iroh." He mumbled under his breath; I only understood some of it. "I have some things to do, to get, and I need to get back to the ship…" He turned, motioning to the pathway.

"Who are you?" Sokka asked, making him turn quickly to him. I could see him size up my brother. Sokka had better learn not to look at everyone as if he was the best warrior ever. He gave him a stern look, and then glanced over to me.

"My name's Lau – Zeilau. Leave it at that. It wouldn't be wise on my part to say more of it." He said, slinging his bow over his shoulder. Wait – his name was Lau? Lau sounded more feminine; especially the way he said it. Oh spirits! Was he really a girl this whole time!

"You're a girl, aren't you?" I asked my voice shaky. I didn't want to offend him if he really was a boy, but when he looked at me, I noticed that he looked even more like a she.

"Yes I am. But I don't think that it makes any difference. I am still the dangerous Firebender that I am. And like I said, I have things to do – and I need to get them done before Zuko leaves me here. I have a favor to ask of you though. Can you give this to the Avatar? He will know what it means." Lau said, handing me an arrow from her quiver. I took it gently and held it. She turned around and walked through bushes, eventually disappearing. Sokka then turned to me.

"Wow. That was one messed up event. Ha, a friendly Firebender, a girl no less – what a crazy dream this is. Woo." He said, resting his hand on my shoulder, then he pinched himself and looked like if he had seen a ghost. "This isn't a dream – right." I just numbly nodded my head, and made me wonder who she really was since she didn't want to say all of her name. Wait…she said that she needed to go before Zuko would leave her. That means that she travels with him – what would Zuko want with a girl on his ship?

That meeting left me with many questions. I wondered if Lau was really her name or just something she came up with. Was she really on no one's side? She would seem to be a powerful ally to either side – she would be very valuable to the cause. What did the arrow mean? How was Aang supposed to know what an arrow meant? Also, the last burning question, what was she to Zuko? She must be someone of importance to be sailing with the Fire Nation prince, but then an idea came to me and I was creeped out – I was not going to think about that one any more. Either way, Zuko's friend, girl Firebender, whatever, she had left us a few coins on the road. It was marked with a Fire Nation sign and some syllable symbols, which I noted was her name. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

"What'cha guys get?" He asked me with his normal hyper-ness as he let Momo fly away from him and perch on Appa's head when he saw us come into the clearing we had found and camped at for the night. "Anything good?" 

"We didn't get too far, Aang, not to the market at least. But we did come back richer – with enough money to buy food for the next month and a half! We met someone on the road and they gave us the money. She was really nice, with the fact of where she was from." I exclaimed, pulling out the coins which Lau, I recalled her name to be, had given to us on the path. "Oh, she also told us to give you something. She said that you knew what it means." I handed Aang the beautifully made arrow and he took it gingerly. His eyes widened as he looked more carefully at it. So he did know what it meant. But why was he reacting like that?

"Was she from the Fire Nation?" Aang asked, his mind an enigma. He looked at the arrow more closely, feeling the feathers on the top. I had seen those feathers before – they looked really nice, like if they were from some royal bird or something like that, and I wouldn't have put it past the Fire Nation for using the feathers from some fancy bird – knowing them.

"Yeah, she was – that's what she said anyway. Why?" I asked, not seeing any significance in her being from the Fire Nation had to do with it.

"I didn't think it would be this soon… I expected it to be a bigger commotion. Either way," Aang stated quietly almost confused and yet he knew what he was talking about, looking absentmindedly at the arrow. "She's back."

* * *

**I am so sorry that I haven't posted for a long time. I am being weird today and doing my AN here. Well, I hope the length of this one made up for my absence of posting. Sorry. And please, ha this time I'm not lazy, BeautifulFirestone, could you drop me a review cause I would love to hear from you. The next chappie is getting typed by my co-author, Meow, thank god for her. Britt should make the AN for that one. So look for that. Also, I have finished drafting Part 1. I have written it and now I just need to type them out. I would have posted this chappie sooner, but I had to rewrite the file cause my file on the floppy was screwed up.**

**-Rika 4-30-06**

**Preview:** **_Scene 5: The Dance of the Dragon Maiden Part 2: The Commence_**


	5. Dance of the Dragon Maiden Part 2

**Hello peeps! The name's Meow-Mix-91! Now listen up, here's the drill! Review! It's not that hard, and it is polite, we provide reading material, you provide feedback, equivalent exchange, right? Anyway, for those of you who don't know, I am the co-author and I love it! From here on, my fellow author and I are going to rotate Author's notes. You'll find that I'm the more _Ahem_ persuasive one when it comes to reviewing, which is exactly what you are going to do after you read this chapter, right? Of course I am, now, on to business. This chapter brings back some good memories. The last chapter and this one are basically the chapters where I stepped in to help wosao out, and it's been fun ever since.**

**To Lilly: Yes, Lau is part of the fire nation, and the Dance of the Dragon Maiden has nothing to do with the show and originated from the mind of someone who is bored with her life and has nothing better to do than to daydream about fan fiction, that person being me. Anyway, enjoy it.**

_**The underlined, bold, & italics are Zuko talking to himself. **_

* * *

Scene 5: Dance of the Dragon Maiden Part 2: Shall We Dance? Sure, why not? 

**Zuko's POV**

I could tell that something was wrong with Lau for the first four days of the week. She was very irritable toward everyone and for some reason; she was especially cold toward Uncle. She was a complete puzzle. Whenever she was mad, I usually tried my best to avoid her.

"Good morning, Zeilau!" Uncle said cheerfully, as she walked into the galley. She frowned at the mere sight of him. "It is such a beautiful morning, is it not?" He continued. Answering with a snarl, she grabbed a cup of water and stormed off. Something had to be wrong for her to be communicating with growls; she only seemed to do this when she was really annoyed about something…or at someone. Uncle, however, chose to shrug her hostility off and continued to drink his morning tea.

"Uncle, what is wrong with her?" I asked.

"Oh, pay no mind to her. She is just a little upset about having to be this year's Maiden of a certain ceremonial dance." Uncle replied accidentally, instantly covering his mouth after realizing what he had let slip. I smirked.

"So she is to be our Dragon Maiden, eh? That's next week, isn't it?" I questioned, smoothly. Now I knew why she was so mad, she had this thing when it came to performing. She despised it. Why would this time be any different? My thoughts paused when I realized something.

"Wait, but it is improper for a Noble. She should not be allowed." Uncle chuckled. "_That _is precisely the reason she is so mad. She told me the same thing." Iroh laughed. "But, what she doesn't know is that her mother, Tora, also did it when she was 16. I still remember it like it was yesterday. As soon as she walked out into the room…well, let's just say that Kumo, Lau's father, was unable to keep his wine in his mouth, instead it all landed in the face of the grandfather of our current general, Xhang. Poor boy was shocked out of his wits." He reminisced.

I grinned at the mention of Xhang. It continued to amaze me that he was now the fire nation's top general. Not to mention the youngest in history.

"Thanks, Uncle. I think I will go see if I can get her to talk to me." I stood up to leave. "Good luck with that, my boy." He called after me.

_Since when did you become so caring?_

**She is my friend, it is my duty.**

_Why waste your time, she can get over it on her own?_

**For some reason, I doubt that.**

_You know she has a few problems._

**Your point being, what? **

_Well…_

**Enough! Leave me alone!**

By the time the conversation with my subconscious had ended I had already reached the deck. Immediately, I saw Lau, she was leaning over the railing, casually sipping her water off in her own little world. I walked over and stood beside her.

"Lau, what's the matter with you lately? You've been…a bit stand off-ish." I asked, just to see if she would come right out and tell me the truth on her own.

"I don't really want to talk about it." She said, trying to avoid my question. I frowned.

"A little tea-drinking bird let slip that it had something to do with a certain dance…" I said trying to get her to break.

"Fine…!" She exclaimed and the words 'Success!' wove through my mind like a banner. "I don't want to do that silly dance, but apparently I have no choice in the matter!"

"And, why, exactly, do you not want to do it?" I persisted.

"You want to know why! I don't want to perform! I don't have the will to do it." Lau finished, cooling off and slowing down a bit. "My will to perform died a long time ago."

"Uncle said your mother danced it when she was 16. If you don't want to do it for yourself, then do it for your mother." I said unusually soft. She didn't respond as she took in this information. Her gaze just lingered on the ocean. I put my hand on her shoulder, and then walked away.

* * *

**Lau's POV**

After Zuko left, his words continued to ring in my ears.

My own mother had danced, even though she was a noble. They always did say rules are meant to be broken. I sighed in defeat. '…do it for your mother.' Those 5 words just wouldn't stop echoing in my head.

I would make her proud - I would dance the damn thing.

* * *

I stared down at my costume. My fingers ached from all the repair work I had done, especially after polishing all the bronze. 

I had most of the dance memorized all the way down to the Firebending that it included. It wasn't easy. It had a lot of twists and spins, but the most complicated part, by far, was the bending patterns. I had to dance, bend, and sing all at the same time, and I'm not one for multi-tasking. Plus, the singing was in the ancient language of the Dragon Keepers. It was hard, simple as that. Other than that, I was all set. _Mom, I'll make you proud._

* * *

Three days past and tonight was the big night, I was nervous, but part of me was confident. I couldn't help but wonder how the sailors would react. 

"Lau…?" Zuko said opening my door. I was startled. "It's almost time for the banquet to begin; you need to come to the crew galley." He walked into the room further. "You ready for tonight?"

I took a breath and it came out shuddering. "Ready as I'll ever be. Let's go before those brutes get too hungry." I said smirking as I got up from the floor and walked towards Zuko. As we walked down the corridor I straitened my armor and tightened my sash.

Once we reached the galley, I was blinded by all the lanterns strewn along the ceiling, a pit of fire rested in the middle of the room waiting for me. I eyed it as we passed. Two long tables were lined vertically on opposite sides of the room for the soldiers while the main table rested in the middle, horizontally, for all the Nobles, the captain, and his right-hand men. I followed Zuko to my place. It didn't help matters when I realized how close the table was to the pit of fire.

Once I was seated, Iroh stood and the room quieted. "Tonight we celebrate the Dragon and the art of Firebending. As we enjoy our dinner, performers shall entertain us with whatever they would like to do. _I_ volunteered to go first." Iroh walked around the table to the pit, where the fire swerved steadily within. "You may eat as I tell you my tale." The men proceeded to eat. We were all served the usual rice, fish, and noodles as our first course along with a warm cup of tea. Wine, to my delight, would replace it later. I had grown to love the bittersweet taste.

"The tale that I shall relay to you this night shall be of the 'Keshin Isan' or 'Incarnation Legacy'." Iroh began. My attention was immediately pulled from my food, and I listened intently.

"Long ago, before the war, there lived four divine beings, one from each nation. They, along with the Avatar, were considered to be the supreme beings of our world. They were known as the Isan." He paused dramatically. I looked the room to see everyone's eyes trained on the old story-teller in the middle of the room, their food obviously forgotten for the moment.

"These Isan were the strongest of Doublebenders, the Polarbenders. A Polarbender could bend opposite elements, for example the Fire Nation Isan could bend both water _and_ fire." I winced slightly.

"For some unknown reason the Isan from the Fire and Earth kingdoms were always a woman, while the Water Tribe and Air Nomad's Isan were men. No one has seen an Isan alive in the last 100 years. Fire Lord Sozen disposed of all Double and Polarbenders along with the four Isan. But, our current Fire Lord, Ozai is led to believe that the Isan of the Fire Nation has been reincarnated again." My heart skipped a beat.

"This person would have to be a Polarbender of course. Isan are reincarnated randomly. When they die, it could be years, decades, or even _centuries_ until they are reborn. There are those who say that you can identify an Isan by a single marking, on them since birth, somewhere on their arm, but no one is certain. The bounty on any Isan would be enough to feed a family for years. As for the rumors about this new Fire Nation Isan, all we can do is wait and see." Iroh bowed and all the men clapped. I nibbled on my fish and watched as someone else walked up.

Iroh glanced in my direction giving me my cue to go and prepare. I stood up and walked out the huge double doors silently to avoid attracting any attention. It was time.

* * *

**Zuko's POV**

I sighed, great, more music. I really wanted to see Lau dance. I've been waiting ever since I found out. She was always a perfectionist, so I expected nothing but the best.

I clapped lightly as the musician finished. Finally, it was Lau's turn. The lanterns suddenly extinguished sending the room into complete darkness and the men began to talk excitedly.

The chatter ceased when the double doors swung open, and torches lit on either side illuminating her cloaked form. The room was silent. Slowly with every step she took, her voice grew louder until she reached the middle, pulling back her hood to reveal her face along the way, of the room in front of the pit of fire.

_Naun el kree u a mae u el me,_  
_Sili mae nin fi li na lo me le ne_  
_Menel advial dur i fuin i vah mae…_

With a flick of her wrist the fire blazed up brightly and I took a drink of my wine, next thing I knew her cloak was gone leaving only her, and all my wine ended up being spluttered out across the table, choking. Uncle, chuckled as he slapped my back. I didn't even know Lau _had_ skin, until today. Her armor seemed permanently attached to her body.

She looked my way, amusement dancing in her eyes, and twirled the fire from the pit spinning around her body. My brain stopped functioning.

* * *

**Lau's POV**

I took a deep breath before beginning my song. The room was silent, exactly the way I wanted it to be. Extinguishing the lanterns had its desired effect on everyone so I was able to catch them off guard. I could hear gasps from around the room. Once I had deserted my cloak, I saw Zuko spit out his wine, coughing and choking as Iroh patted his back.

When he composed himself, I smirked in his direction. I saw him gulp slightly and….was that a blush?

Well, if that isn't a good sign, then I didn't know what was.

* * *

**So, what did ya think? REVIEW! NOW! MUWAHAHAHAHA! No, really, NOW.**

**Preview: _Scene 6: Dance of the Dragon Maiden Part 3: Blackmail_**

**-Meow 5-15-06**


	6. Dance of the Dragon Maiden Part 3

**Thanks for staying in till Chappie 6. I hope that it is getting better cause the insanity is just getting started. Well thank you for puting the story on alert or favs. the mysterious person that starts with a 'k'. I am too lazy, lol, to go and check you penname but if you dropby a review, which both Meow and I would love I would like you so much. Please just send in a review. It doesn't take too long and even if it is just a few words just please do one. Well without further adieu, here is the rest of the dance.**

* * *

Scene 6: Dance of the Dragon Maiden Part 3: Blackmail 

**Zuko's POV**

From the moment that Lau stalked out my eyes were glued to her. She was in a different light than how I had always seen her. I had only seen her perform a few times, but that was almost always with music and alone, eavesdropping on her when she didn't realize it. But she seemed almost another person. Lau looked like she was lost in the music, if something had possessed her and made her dance in that way. I would have never thought that the Lau that always wore men's armor and the one that could cuss just as much as any man could be like that.

Her costume was exotic with a visible theme of gold and burgundy – which were the ancient colors of the Dragon keepers. Her hair was pulled halfway back, with a few strands falling in her face freely. It was the first time I had ever seen her wear anything on her face or so fancy and nice, except for that one day, which no one dare spoke of to her unless they wanted to get killed where they stood. Her face was paler, maybe only a little bit. She had on golden eye color, brightening her normally dark grey eyes. A burgundy traced an outline of her eye on the inside. Her lashes were curled too, as I could see.

Just below her shoulders were two metal bands. They were gold with a burgundy swirl on them. A ruby-looking gem sparkled in the firelight on each one, with another tear shaped gem dangling.

Her top seemed to consist of a metal outline with burgundy cloth where it was needed. The neckline was of a 'V', ending at the middle of her bust – the low cut causing a lot of her bust to be seen, but not too much that she would be uncomfortable, because if she was uncomfortable in something, she would make a deal out of it and not wear it or change it. She had more of a bust than I had thought as I did know that she bound her chest and so she was always flat and you could never tell through all the armor. At the bottom of it, in the bronze, were another gem and a dangling tear shaped one.

Her bottom was gold material with a burgundy streak through it. Connected to it was a mesh-type material, which happened to also be burgundy. The skirt part reached down to her knees, tracing the curves of her hips, which were usually hidden by armor and clothing. And the cloth was split on the sides, allowing movement.

On her wrists were similar bands to the ones on her upper arms. They were also made of bronze with a burgundy swirl, but on the bottom, which was the bottom of her wrist, were two diagonal burgundy lines, meeting where a gem was at. Connected to the bands at the top part, opposite of the gem, was more burgundy mesh fabric, which hung down to her ankles. The bottom of the transparent material was a strip of gold material, lining the bottom hem. Connected to the bottom part of her wrist bands, nearest to her palm, was another piece of burgundy mesh but it was connected to a bronze ring on her middle finger, same on both hands.

On her ankles were another set of bands, the same as the ones on her upper arms. They had the same design and gems. And I noticed that on one of her toes, she wore a ring, bronze like the other one. I could see that she spent a lot of time making the costume and it showed too.

Lau looked stunning. She looked great, which was awkward for me to admit to myself. As she did her spins, I could see her muscles flex, the muscles she got after working hard on the ship and even back on Azon, even though she may have thought that I didn't know how she lived there, I knew that she did a lot of work around her aunt's estate. I closed my eyes and shut out the few thoughts from my head, which I knew did not belong there. She was my friend, nothing more – she would never be nothing more than that and I would make sure of it.

She twirled into the middle of the room, stealing a flame from the pit and she bended it into a thin stream of fire. She circled her hands, causing the fire to swirl around her body. She leapt and raised a wall of fire from the pit. She twirled again and sang as she bended the fire into the ancient form that was used to ward away bad spirits.

_Sin erid na that túr in úrgarnen_  
_Mi naurah Oroin Boe hedi ii Vín_  
_Han i vangad i mow ben túr in úgarnen_  
_Sin eriol cili ẃar_  
_Boe min mebi Boe min bango_

She formed a small stream of fire and threw it back into the giant flames which suddenly grew, as if it was angered by her words and her motions. Lau made flames in her hands, but spread it over her palms and the back of her hand. I sat in amazement of her skill – I was not even that far. She spun around, drawing her arms up, crossing them over her chest. When she stopped spinning, I noticed that the flames had grown stronger, pulsing with the beat, which I assumed she controlled.

_Sin eriol na ûm beleg úganen_  
_Ú cilith ẃar_  
_Boe min mebi Boe min bango_  
_Boe hedi i Vín_

She kicked her leg up, her ankle reaching near her head, causing the fire to rise dramatically. She turned and faced the pit with the flames in it. Once again, she drew out a stream, but this time, she guided it over and around her body, letting it linger on her flesh, but did not let it burn her.

_Sin eriol ûm beleg úgannen_  
_Sí na vethed bain i wilith úria_  
_I ardhon ban lacha_  
_Nu da naid bain úe rin_  
_Le regi erin le na thi úeri o nin gwahno_

Lau kicked out and landed on the ground in a lunge, her left leg out, and whipped out with the stream of fire in front of her. She quickly got back up and spun and twirled quickly, twirling the flame around her again.

_Orthannen im vi ôl Coll e dû_  
_Or hiriath naur Na rovail mae sui_  
_Man prestant i ardhon_  
_Cerithar aen dim úthenin_

The music's pace quickened, I knew there was another word for it, but I didn't really care for music and I could really care less about its technical vocabulary, and it got spookier with every beat. Lau dropped the flame back into the pit, and danced without flames. She quickly twirled and landed, all those years of dance had finally paid off for her I guess. She then did an aerial spin and landed on both feet squarely. She kicked up her foot and brought I back down, causing herself to spin. As she stopped, her right hand half covered her face, her finger apart, her hand inches away from her face. She started to sing again, she wanted to bend naturally, but had to control herself – I could just see it in her. She sang again and I knew it was getting to the last verse.

_An i lu na cu An i naun lui_

She spun around and stopped, facing the pit and the table where I was sitting at. She looked at the fire as she continued to sing, continued to encourage the Fire Spirits to watch over us, over the sacred dragon.

_A na naun annen An naun nann cu an_

Lau circled her hands and separated them, causing a wall of fire to form and it split through its center, splitting each part to the side. She held it there and the music and the song continued. The meaning of the last line was haunting and the way it was sung was even more haunting.

_Annen ne pe nann perónen A_

Suddenly, as Lau sang the last word, she dropped to the deck onto her knees punched her hand discreetly, which I caught, causing the two forms of the fire wall to come together and clash, sending the whole flame height to the ceiling, then died away, back down. As the giant flame died away, Lau locked her gaze with mine hauntingly.

The crew rose to their feet and cheered her on in excitement. They clapped and cheered to her, which she absorbed. Lau had done good job – I suppose. I was never one for dancing, even though I was forced to learn. Lau stood up and bowed greatly, her face beamed with pride which had been absent from her face for so long. I don't think that I had seen her smile like that ever since we were little kids. I clapped lightly from where I sat and just watched her.

* * *

**Lau's POV**

During the whole dance, I could feel Zuko's gaze burn on me. He was sizing me up, which made me smirk with pride that I could do that to our prince. The wall of fire was split and I had sung my last line, all I had to do was the last move, one of the hardest of them all but all of the moves were very hard. I fell to my knees and I punched my hand into my fist hiddenly, trying not to let them see me do it, and I had to control the flame's movement with my mind. I raised it to the ceiling and let it die down back into the pit where I kept it low with my mind. I locked my gaze with his through the small fire still burning. His eyes showed all that I needed to know about my performance. I was really excited on how well it had gone but there was still the sadness of performing again, it was truly a bittersweet moment.

The men cheered and clapped for me, and I even saw Zuko clap lightly, keeping his normal aloof air. I really missed the audience applauding for you and cheering, showing their approval of your show. I stood up slowly, and bowed to Zuko, showing my respect that I was formally supposed to do. If it had not been so formal, I would have just walked away, wanting to get out of what little they considered clothing. I hastily left, itching to get out of the clothes. My room was very close, thank Agni.

As I walked into my room, I looked at my reflection in the small mirror that I owned. Sweat beaded my forehead, face, and neck, causing my skin to glitter in the firelight. I was exhausted and ready for a well deserved rest. I looked towards my mat where my normal armor and clothes were waiting for me and I longed to get out of that costume and into them.

I took off all of my bands which were a total of six. I picked dup my white cloth strips and wrapped my arm from my wrist to my elbow quickly, wanting to feel my skin covered up. I took of the chafing bronze and silk top. My advice for making a top was not to use solid materials for the outline. I quickly picked up my wide white cloth which I used to bind my chest, and wrapped it from my abdomen, just above my navel, to over my bust. I slipped on my grey long-sleeved shirt and my forearm bracers over the sleeve. I slipped off my skirt-like thing and pulled on my undergarments. I pulled on my pair of grey pants and clasped my calve bracers around my leg. I slipped my armor over my head and fastened it on, tying straps on both sides and a few buckles that were hidden. I tied on my leg armor and buckled my belt. I picked up my black silk sash and hastily tied it over my belt, and folded it over the knot neatly. I quickly put my shoes on and I made sure my costume was in a close-to-neat pile on my mat.

I looked at myself in the mirror again. That was the Lau I was used to seeing, armor clad and tough…minus one part though… I picked up a rag that I had laying around and I wiped my face off, leaving my normal face there. I then was normal, my normal self. I smiled lightly and then extinguished the lamps which were still lighting my room.

* * *

**Zuko's POV**

Lau walked back in the galley again, but she was back in her full armor. The soldiers applauded her once more, and she bowed again and sat down next to me. We didn't say anything for awhile, neither of us wanting to talk, but then I decided to be a man and break it.

"Lau – you were – you were-" I stuttered, stumbling over my words. Oh that was great, I tried to talk by my tongue was tied. I was a genius.

"Thanks, Zuko." Lau replied quietly, not turning her head to look at me. "I know what you mean." Great, her saying that made me sound even more like and idiot.

"I can't believe you did all of that in a week alone." I commented shortly, not wanting to stumble again and embarrass myself again in front of her. I shouldn't have been nervous about being embarrassed, I was a prince and I shouldn't have to worry about stupid things like that.

"Neither can I really. I think that even though my mom is not here on the ship, her spirit helped me – encouraged me when I wanted to quit and wanted to condemn it unsuitable for me." She responded. "Zuko, I want to thank you for telling me to do it for my mom. When everyone applauded for me, I felt so great. I had almost completely forgotten what being in the spotlight felt like." She smiled. It had been the only time I had seen her smile for years.

She hadn't smiled on board for the past two years and the times that I saw her at Azon she wasn't the happiest of all children, but when we were very young, when she still had lived in the palace with the rest of her family, she had smiled all the time, she was a very happy child. But I assumed all that happiness left as soon as she realized what was happening in the world, what the Fire Nation was really doing. If you tell a child that there is a war, they won't think anything of it as it doesn't affect them and they can't comprehend it. But as you grow up you realize what it all truly means. Then some things didn't go too well for her family either… It was almost like if she had no reason to smile then and still didn't want to have a reason.

"Does that mean that you will perform more? You sang very well." I asked slyly, not really expecting an answer from her. It reminded me of the days that we would play together, when we were still able to at least.

"No. Don't go over your head or get your hopes up. I never said that." She laughed, seeing some humor in it somewhere unknown to me. "I wish that Kai could have seen me. She would have been proud of me."

We sat there, no one talking, just calmly watching the other performers. I was just looking absentmindedly out as my mind was somewhere else. Lau dancing really messed with my mind. I was in so much more awe of her than I showed. I knew that she could dance – we all knew how to dance, but I never knew that she could move that well. Dancing was never too much to her liking but there, then, it truly looked as if she was enjoying it.

"Zeilau, you were excellent!" Iroh exclaimed from behind us which caught us both off guard, Lau a little less than me.

"Thanks…I want to thank you for making me go up there. It really brought back my love for the stage and performing." Lau thanked him, smiling again. I probably would never see her smile again that big. It took someone real special to her to make her smile and I knew that Iroh was very close to her after what had happened eight years ago. And it took a special person to get really close to her. She wasn't the most stable of all people, emotionally. Iroh walked away with a grin, leaving us to our peace again.

"Lau, you sing great. You should sing for us more often." I said, smirking smugly. "Then, I wouldn't have to listen through your door anymore." The look on her face was priceless. I knew that I was going to get hell from her but I wanted to see her react to it which made it the most fun as she reacted to everything.

"You've been what?" Lau exclaimed and slapped my shoulder hard which hurt her more as she hit my armor. That was the exact response I was looking for and I secretly enjoyed too. I enjoyed pissing Lau off.

"But seriously, you were great. Just remember that now the whole crew has blackmail on you; especially because you danced in a skimpy outfit." I declared victoriously. She probably never thought of that one – blackmail, serious blackmail.

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**REVIEW! KOUHYON! RECENSEREN! SELOSTAA! CRITIQUE! FELÜLVIZSGÁLAT! REVISÃO! обзор! REPASO! KRIRIK!I just told you to review in English, Japanese, African, Finnish, French, Hungarian, Portugese, Russian, Spanish, and Sweedish. SO REVIEW!**


	7. A Small Reunion

**6-9-06**

**Sup ya'll! Well this is Rika again, finally actually. Well I am here with chappie 7 of PWC. I saw that another person has put this story on favorites. I think Britt was supposed to write this AN but she is in San Antonio and cannot write it so I am here to take her place. We are working on this story and I do have a life so posting chappies may be hard for awhile. We have decided that the second part to this story will be in a whole new story so you have that to look forward to and this part of the story is almost halfway done. Only 3 more chappies till halfway. Well, I hope you pay attention to this chappie as I put in a lot of hints and clues about the future and I also put in emphasis on certain things that are important so pay attention to those things. Besides that I only have to remind you all to review! Please REVIEW! I will love you tons of more times than I do already if you jsut drop by a few words. Both Britt and I will totally love you for it. I know you read this and please just drop by and tell us what you think. You too Lilly. lol Here's the story cause I know ya'll are just starting to get really hooked to it and wondering what else happens. And seriously, if you only have a flame to offer, send it. I would love to hear anything! Also this is a Mary Sue free zone so enjoy this NO SUE story. lol**

**Oh and if you also happen to be a SW Knerd or Phantom Phan, check out my other stories. I really want more people to read my SW story which I was rewriting and I know you will like. I had to shamelessly plug my own story. lol Here's the feature story...**

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Scene 7: A Small Reunion

**Lau's POV**

"Your move." I replied monotoned, bored with the current event. I had miraculously gotten Iroh away from his Pai Sho and made him play some chifu with me. I was master at chifu which Zuko constantly doubted my abilities in. 'If you didn't complete primary school how are you supposed to be smart enough to master chifu?' He had always taunted me. I was always taunted for being Noble and not finishing my schooling. But Gi had always told me that it didn't matter if I didn't finish my schooling but how much I really knew. That was the reason why he forced me, for awhile against my will, to play chifu against him, who was the best at it. I never did beat him…

Iroh moved his white-square bishop up towards me and I countered with moving my rook down, level with my other rook on the second to last row. His king was in its original place, never touched. He thought then moved him pawn forward. I looked at my board and eyed my pieces. I had a certain strategy going for me at the moment and I was sticking to it. I saw my two pawns in one column from when I did a special move and I saw my two queens, one original and the other a promoted pawn. I decided my last move, smirking as I did it, and I moved my bishop down, cornering him, issuing him a check.

"Check and Mate!" I declared victoriously. Iroh starred at the board in dismay and awe. Chifu was obviously not his favorite game. I reached and took the pot of thirteen silver pieces. We bet high as we had the money to spare and because it made it more fun.

"Yes, excellent game Zeilau. I just can't think quick enough to play this game." Iroh stated, accepting his defeat. "Now, if we had played Pai Sho, this would have ended differently."

"All you need is a strategy Iroh. Chifu and Pai Sho are not the same game. You need to play it more often – then you might be able to beat me." I laughed. I pointed out a few simple but fatal flaws he made and he chuckled.

"You always one for memorizing and remembering details. Next time I'll beat you and win back my money." He stated with a mischievous glint in his eyes and words.

"Prince Zuko, Sir! There are distress signals straight ahead!" A navigator declared as he looked back to us.

"Why must you both me with such inferior matters? If it is from nowhere important, then just ignore it and continue on." Zuko spat, angry that he was disturbed. Zuko was in his usual spot making it look like if he was doing something that was actually important. The navigator looked through a telescope and shrunk back.

"It's coming from the Earthbender Prison Rig, Sir. What are we to do, your majesty?" He asked uncertain, just hoping that he wouldn't be killed for asking him. Zuko pondered for a moment then gave his answer.

As soon as I heard 'Earthbender Prison Rig' I knew exactly where we were headed to and dread filled my body. Those poor Earthbenders were kept in the most horrible conditions – but why would I care about people like them? They were all below me – me, a Noble, but at the same time, much more. I sighed and watched the waved lap against the bow and sides of the giant fleet. The ocean went on forever, never ending, or at least it seemed. After being at sea for two years, you get sick of it and it gets old very, very fast. I sometimes wished that I would have just stayed with Kai at Azon and never had been brought into the mess that I was in, but I was going for a reason. To help Zuko, my only friend. I was only there to help Zuko, only Zuko, to help Zuko capture the Avatar.

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"Sir, the rig is now less thana third of a league away." I stood up straighter and turned to Zuko. 

"I'll be on deck – waiting, as always." I declared on routine. I always seemed to wait on deck for everyone else. Maybe because I loved to be right in front of it all. I walked out to the balcony and climbed down from the helm to the deck. I looked out beyond the horizon and saw our destination. I did not want to even step a foot on that rig even if it was the only way to survive. I had heard of it – everyone had. And I hated the idea and thought of it. It and everyone associated with it: the warden, who shall remain nameless for the time being, the guards, and the Fire Lord, himself.

I was thrown out of my thoughts when our anchor dropped and the ship lurched forward, not prepared for the sudden halt. I didn't notice that we were right next to the side of the behemoth sized steel rig. Zuko stood on the railing of the ship and stepped onto the rig. I followed suit, along with a couple of soldiers, two to be exact, one being Tierm whom I knew and was nice to. Tierm was the guard of my parents and I, whom my uncle asked to accompany me on the ship. He was also one of my family's confidants, in whom we resided many of our personal secrets including the deepest ones. I trusted him with my life. We walked along the sold metal corridors until we reached the warden along with a group of guards.

"Noble Dentou Shi, Warden." A guard announced to us as it like we didn't have a clue who the man was. Well, at least I knew who he was – maybe the ignoramus next to me didn't. A man who was slightly wet by the way, as if he just swam, with grey eyes and thin greying black long hair and beard stepped forward. His red sash gave him away as a higher ranked Noble than I was. I knew him – it would have been pretty sad if I didn't.

"Ah! Wouldn't you know? We have some visitors today: his majesty, Prince Zuko, and oh! My favorite niece, Zeilau. How kind of you both to stop by in this hour." Dentou smiled in his deep voice. He was my mother's only sibling. They had fought like siblings and their views differed like siblings. I never 'hated' him, more like 'strongly disliked'. He never approved of my mom marrying my dad, he didn't see my father worthy of my mother and he made his opinion clear to him too.

"I'm not in the mood to hear that now, Dentou. What're the signals for?" I asked him sharply, not wanting to hear his voice and I knew that he was very good at talking and droning on and never getting to the point.

"My, my, you are the irritable one, my Zeilau." He cooed to me with a crooked grin on his face as my lips furled into a snarl. _I'm no one's – especially not yours, Dentou._ "I sent those signals because an entire group of prisoners have just recently escaped these walls." My eyes narrowed at him and I started to grow a smirk. Zuko stood up straighter upon hearing that and got more active in the conversation. There had already been enough bonding between us two. I was set for the next year.

"An entire prison full of _Earthbenders_ escaped?" Zuko asked, laughter hidden in the depths of his voice, which I could only notice. "How could they have done that? This rig is entirely steel."

"They wouldn't have, if it wasn't for those Water Tribe children and that bald one." Dentou scoffed at the description of the Avatar. Either he really disliked the Avatar or he was a really good actor but I sided with the first one. I smirked lightly at him. It served him right to have them all escape. Zuko perked up at hearing Water Tribe children and a bald child too. "If the Avatar wouldn't have shown up and helped they would still be in my control." I bit my thumb lightly to keep myself from laughing aloud. It was all really too funny. Who wouldn't be able to escape from my uncle? He wasn't the brightest one all the time and some family members even said that I might have gotten that from him. So…the Avatar really was here all along…Zuko was going to go his normal self.

"I'm going to look around." He announced as he walked off, angry that he had not been there when the Avatar had been. I really thought that he was going to go on another of his 'I must capture the Avatar' rants. It surprised me that he didn't.

"So, Lau, what have you been doing lately?" My uncle asked me quietly and innocently, which I knew was really not so innocent as he sounded. I just scowled in return as I thought it was obvious what I had been doing. I had been following a crazily obsessed friend of mine making sure that he didn't do anything _too_ stupid or hurt himself too much in the process. But still, it was better than staying in the Fire Nation.

"Oh, just skipping around in meadows of pretty pink flowers, giggling, and wearing dresses with Ty Lee because its her favorite past time and mine too." I said, speaking with as much sarcasm as I could muster, which was the most I had even used in a _long_ time. "What do you seriously think I was doing!" I yelled at him as I took a step towards him adding the pressure to him. I breathed heavily as the silence ate away.

"You've got my sister's mouth alright." Dentou commented coolly. " I just thought that something – anything would happen to you, around you." I stood there in front of him trying not to loose it and totally blow up in anger.

"I've been on a damn ship for two fuckin' years in the middle of a goddamned ocean! What the hell could happen in the middle of nowhere!" I yelled, my anger getting the most of me. I totally lost it and Dentou wasn't helping nor was the fact that he was just making my blood boil even more.

"I see you've inherited your father's vocabulary as well." He replied calmly. I squinted my eyes in anger. Smoke was emitting from my palms as I tried to keep my temper in check but was failing miserably. For some reason my temper always had gotten shorter when I was around my uncle. I heard a few waved hit the rig violently but then died back down only after a few more plundered the rig viscously. The wind blew my loose strands of hair across my face, as the wind had grown stronger. Dentou smirked at me.

"You should really watch your temper, Zeilau. It would be just horrible if _anything_ was to happen because of your temper. You should pay more attention to yourself." He said, using unneeded emphasizing of 'anything'. I scowled at him and more smoke swirled from my hands. I looked up at the orangish blue sky. I gritted my teeth and breathed the rest of my anger out as fire and smoke, my fury escaping my body. I stood there breathing deeply as my shoulders heaved from the effort.

"Very well done, Zeilau." Dentou said as he placed his hand on my cheek. I recognized the motion and I absorbed the blistering heat that he was emitting through his hand to me. I was use to his 'games'. "I could never get you with that one, now could I? After all, you're one of the youngest Masters in Fire Nation history, mastered at what? 12? 13? Even younger than Azula? You're one in a few, Lau." He stated with semi-false pride.

"Yes, I mastered Firebending younger than _Azula_ did. It doesn't surprise me either. As nice as it was to see you again, Uncle, I really need to make sure Zuko isn't doing something stupid. So, if you'll excuse me…" I said, bowing halfway and walking off towards the other side, dying to get away from my uncle.

I walked awhile until I reached the accommodations for the captives. It was pretty bad. No one should have to live like that. It was indescribable and I didn't want to think about it more than I had to. I saw Zuko at the end, looking out onto the orange horizon. I slowly walked up to him. I could hear the clang of my shoes hitting the metal deck, echoing off the bare steel walls. I gazed over his shoulder. He was holding that girl's necklace – the necklace of the Waterbending symbol with the black satin. What was her name again? Kata…no. Katsuma? No. Katara! That was it! It was her necklace.

"What's with the necklace, Zuko? I don't really think that blue is your color though… but what do I know about fashion?" I asked partially myself and partially him. I really knew nothing about fashion so I had no right to talk but it seemed familiar. Something was jumping in my head telling me that I had seen it somewhere else before.

"It was on the floor. The Water Tribe girl must have lost it. The Avatar was here. Dentou wasn't lying." Zuko stated quietly far off, as if he was really spaced out and barely recognized my existence. Really, it was a first for him not to kill me for my previous comment that he seemed to not notice at all which meant that I wouldn't have to witness him failing to kill me.

"So…what are you going to do with it?" I asked him, boredom evident in my tone. I really could care less what he was going to do with it – throw it into the ocean, burn it, crush it, give it to me which would result in me just disposing of it to my liking, or the most creepy, he could keep it. That was when something came into my mind that I never wanted to even think about again. I almost wanted to throw up just because it even entered my mind.

"Keep it." He replied quietly. _Okay, I was going to throw up now._ That was the worst timed thing that he had ever said. The thought came back to my mind and I about died…again. Luckily he had no idea what I had thought and didn't know the reason why I choked on _air_ when he said that. "She'll want it back. But she'll have to find it first." Zuko replied with a hint of scheme in his voice. I had known him for all of my life – I knew when he was scheming and when he wasn't. He turned him towards me and his golden eyes had his 'evil plot-scheming' look written all over them.

"You're going to use her as a pawn, aren't you?" I asked, placing my hand on my hip, which I didn't do too much and surprised myself that I even did that off instinct, and I rolled my eyes. I reminded myself of my mom, putting my hands on my hips just like she did.

"That's what I plan on doing. She's going to come looking for it and the Avatar will naturally just follow her. Then, all I have to do is trick and capture him. How hard could it be to trick a little kid?" He spilled his guts and his plans onto the floor – not literally but figuratively of course.

"…It's not going to work." I stated, my voice trailing off to silence. That was when I started to feel strange. When I said that to him he would normally react to it and get mad at me…he was slowing on his reaction time.

"And why not!" He asked, angry that I doubted his foolproof plans. The plans that beat any of mine, Iroh's, and most of all, his father's. I just rolled my eyes at him and continued to talk to him.

"It's not going to work because whenever you try to capture that child, you always come out empty handed. Somehow – some way – she will get her necklace back and the Avatar will slip out of your grasp…_again_." I said laughing on the inside, making a huge pause between 'grasp' and 'again' adding emphasis. It was really hilarious if you looked at it from my point of view. If he would only let me play a bigger role we might actually be able to capture him, but for as long as Zuko's pride gets in the way, it won't happen. But also we probably wouldn't be able to capture the child anyway because I am not as stupid as Zuko was to believe that his father would actually let him return just by capturing the Avatar – I saw the truth that he obviously couldn't.

"That won't be the case this time, Lau! I will capture him! You just watch!" He exclaimed, his defensive side kicking in, amusing me even further. He turned and took a couple of steps before my voice stopped him.

"Of course you will…" I muttered sarcastically purposely making it loud enough for him to hear it. He turned his head and shot me an evil glare. I chuckled lightly and decided to follow him. His pace was swift but I could match it just as easily as my legs were about his length.

"Zuko, tomorrow, you want to spar? We haven't in a long time and I need my practice." I asked him spontaneously as we walked through a dark hall. I saw him give a passing glance my way then back to the necklace he held in his hand not the most gentlely.

"I don't know Lau…maybe…" He said deeply in thought, which I didn't have to guess was about the Avatar. What was his name again? Aang? Yeah that was it. I remembered that Katara girl saying something to him or about him when we went to Kyoshi Island. That place was the most boring place I had ever been too. I didn't even get any action. I just sat in the tree waiting for something to come my way. Yuu was a little bit away chomping on some grass. I only shot an arrow at Katara once and that was when she said something about Zuko – no one was allowed to talk about Zuko like that except for me. She knew it was I and I had the satisfaction in knowing that.

"Ah, are you scared that a girl will kick your ass like so many times before?" I taunted him, making a slight pouting sound just to entice him a little more. When I had insulted him, it had gone too far and I knew that he would respond to that. We were both similar – I would act the same way too if Zula said that to me. He stopped and turned to me sharply, making me smirk on the inside.

"Fine! You're on! Tomorrow we'll spar – sunbreak!" He exclaimed as he slapped each other's hand in mutual agreement. "You'll be sorry that you asked me…" He turned and continued on the path.

"Yeah, sure. I think you forget who's the master here." I mumbled under my breath and continued to walk behind him, my body drowned in his shadow. As we walked, the only sounds were of our steady breathing and the sound of our shoes on the metal floor.

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**Aw...well can't wait to do the next chappie cause it is a lot of fun, but it will take me awhile cause it is a fighting chappie and it takes me a long time to get it how I want it to be. But in the meantime, REVIEW! NOW! The button is right there and I know you have the minute or so to send me in what you think about it. But if you don't review, could you please pimp this story to your friends or something casue the next thing I love besides REVIEWS are HITS. . So you know what you'll do now right...yes, you are going to REVIEW. **

**Preview: _Scene 8: The Duel_**


	8. The Duel

**8-8-06**

**Hello, and welcome back. Sorry for the little hiatus. I was on summer vacation and I didn't want to type anything out. Hopefully I can go back to weekly or bi-weekly updates as I am about to go to work on the next part maybe. Only two more chappies until this part is halfway over! So yeah, enjoy it as much as possible. TO THOSE FEW THAT READ THIS: Please, please can you review? I know that you read this so can you review? I just want to know what you all think about the story. I am starting to get desperate now. I need reviews to know what ya'll think. So please just drop a few words by. Thankies. This is more or less a filler chappie and the next is to lead to the climax of this part where a series follows for ten chappies. Ok, please read and review. .**

**--Rika-san**

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**Scene 8: The Duel**

**Lau's POV**

I sighed as I inhaled the aroma of my poison's toxins. I was cooped up in my chambers brewing up a new batch of poison for my next quiver of arrows. I was looking forward to the spar, more than anxious to prove to him that I was far superior to him in combat. I had been waiting for this for a long time. I wasn't going to use a bow, which was very unfortunate as I loved my bow the most and I was very skilled in archery. But, I would kill him too easily with it. The only weapon we were allowed to use was a sword. I wasn't used to carrying one, but I did know how to use one though. My uncle had taught me recently, only about two years prior to leaving. I only owned one sword, my father's.

My dad's sword was normal looking, the blade about a meter long, and a plain hilt. The only detail that made it stand out was an inscription on the bottom of blade, near the hilt. The symbols for 'The way of the warrior' were engraved into it. I remembered the day that my dad showed me the sword, the day that he was going to leave to war, he and my mom.

I had sparred with Zuko many of times before, but I had a strange feeling that this time the spar would be different. I knew that neither of us would get injured critically, but something felt weird. Maybe, probably, it was just me being my overly-worrying self…but I wasn't positive. Zuko had been in a bad mood all yesterday night. I knew that he would fight pretty rough today, but I was ready for whatever he would dish out to me.

I strapped my sword to my belt, ready to fight him. I checked my poison one last time, with only five minutes until it would have to be put into vials before it over fermented and was useless, and left the room. As I walked down the hall and out onto the deck, I then knew that I had felt, what I had known. It wasn't going to take long. It would be over and done with in a few minutes, preferably five, as I needed to get back to my poison. I saw Zuko standing out next to his uncle, his sword strapped to his back, as usual. I smirked. Oh how I was going to have fun.

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"Anything goes. Use bending until one unsheathes their sword. Let the last man standing win." Iroh declared as Zuko and I stepped in front of each other, both of us glaring into each other's eyes. "Start!" He yelled, as he took a step back, narrowly avoiding a blast of fire that I sent out instantly after it was started. I had taken Zuko by surprise, which I relished. The look on his face told me everything that I needed to know. 

I took another deep breath and punched out my fist, sending another thick stream of fire towards his stomach, which he quickly deflected by diving to the side, missing him.

"Come on, Zuki, is that the best you've got? This is child's play." I taunted him, his anger boiling so high that I could even feel it. I saw him fume silently at me, revenge and anger burning in his eyes, which only egged me on more. "Now I can see why you aren't a master yet." I might have taken that comment too far as he caught me off guard. He jumped up and spun, sending multiple blasts at me. I blocked all but one, for some reason, and that one powerful blast knocked me back and made me hit the cold steel deck hard, knocking the wind out of me for a moment, until I could regain my breath. I shook my head to clear my mind and I stood back up, my feet square. I glared at his little smirk of triumph that he wore so proudly, but I had another thought up my sleeve.

In one quick movement I unsheathed my sword, holding its blade vertical to my face, waiting for him to do the same. He reached onto his back and pulled out two Broadswords. Oh crap! I was great with a sword, but Zuko was just as good with his Broadswords. Why hadn't I guessed that he would fight with them? But this was going to be fun, a lot of fun.

I rushed towards him, swinging my sword at him only to be blocked. He swung his right sword at my stomach and his other at my neck. I blocked the blow to my abdomen, then I rose my blade to my neck, saving the potentially deadly blow from reaching its target. Sparks fell in a shower to the floor. I rolled his blade off of mine and I took a step backwards.

I sliced downward onto his shoulder but he spun around and sent a blow to my back. I reached over my shoulder and stopped his blades in the nick of time. I was slowing down and a lot slower than he was. I was screwed. But I would not give up in the middle of a fight. Keeping constant contact, I spun around, spun my blade and knocked a Broadsword out of Zuko's grasp in a flash. This time, he had taken a few steps back, away from the main field. My shoulders heaved as I took in enormous breaths, my body starting to overwork, my body desperately trying to get the air that it needed to replenish my body. I knew that in one quick move I could end this mock fight and I could rest, as I knew his one true weakness in combat. His weakness, no matter how hard he trained, he could not seem to rid himself of, as if it was strapped to his back, never letting go. And it was all that I would need, all that I would need to take advantage of to win.

Zuko also regained composure and took a step forward and I followed suit. This very short segment was very quickly paced. One of us would send a blow, the other would block it and et cetera, et cetera. We were growing tried as our breaths labored and our attacked moved slightly slower than before. My muscles ached from the strenuous toil. I had not sparred with a sword in over four years and its weight was strange to me. It was built for a full-grown man – not a teenage girl. As we continued the fight, I noticed that Zuko was using a lot of his strength behind his blows, whereas I was using as much energy as I needed, but saved the rest, as I was conserving my energy for my final blow.

I met Zuko's blade at his collarbone. Keeping him occupied, I spun around, crouched and swung my leg, hitting him on his knees, causing him to fall to the floor on his back with a crash. As he landed, his sword skidded across the deck, gone from his reach. I bent lower and stopped my blade just centimeters from his neck, victorious.

"Checkmate, Zuki." I said victoriously. I reached down, offering him my hand, but he swatted it away like a fly, as if it wasn't even there. He slowly picked himself back up, standing back up on his feet after a moment, brushing dirt off of his clothes.

"You know, I let you win that one." He replied coldly, only to have me cock an eyebrow at him in reply.

"That cold tone of voice isn't going to heal your wounded ego, even I know that." I said smugly, a smirk dancing on my lips, a hint of laughter in my brown eyes. It wasn't so much that I enjoyed torturing Zuko, actually, I just wanted to make my ego feel better. It was selfish of me and cruel, but I needed to feel better, even if it meant degrading my best friend. "That's not the way _I _saw it."

"Well you saw wrong! I let you win so you wouldn't humiliate yourself in front of Uncle!" He snapped back, not wanting the opposition from me. I scoffed at him within my mind, knowing that he was just bull-shitting his way though that one.

"Oh, when did Zuki become so caring and thoughtful and selfless? Let me guess, you didn't want me to be embarrassed so you took the fall for me and embarrassed _yourself_…all for me." I stated, overly sarcastic, feeling the weight of my words on my tongue, almost wondering what had gotten into me, almost. I glared at him and he glared at me, a usual setting for us too. Suddenly, unknown to me, Iroh got into the conversation.

"You both did excellent. Your forms were near perfection, both of you." Iroh applauded both off us. "Now, how about we all forget about this spar and cool off drinking some nice refreshing tea?" Zuko almost exploded upon the suggestion.

"I don't want any tea, Uncle! Can't you see that there are more important matters right now than tea?" He yelled as he stormed off, picking up his Broadswords from the deck.

"Sometimes I just don't understand him…" Iroh stated quietly as he watched Zuko disappear on the other side of the deck. He turned to me. I didn't need to worry about Zuko, he was the least of my problems. If he wanted to screw up his life and live as a sour person, it was his life, he could screw it up any way he wanted for all I cared. And I understood where his mood was coming from. If Zuko hated one thing the most, it was losing, especially after what happened with his father, but he had always been like that, and Zula hadn't helped much with the situation.

"I know, Iroh, I know." I replied, my voice hushed. "He'll get over it by tomorrow. And knowing him, he'll want to get me back, somehow." I said, smiling at his antics, satisfied at knowing him pretty much inside and out. How he would get me back, I didn't know for sure, but I knew, swearing over my bow, that he would, or at least try.

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**Hm you made it through the chappie, so please review. Please...**

**_Preview: Scene 9: Targets and Open Doors_**


	9. The Future of this Story

**To Whom it May Concern:**

**I, wosao and on behalf of my co-author, meowmix, am here to say that we are not canceling our story but it is great consideration. We cannot see why there is such a lack of interest and hits to it as it has great potential and it develops greatly in the comming chappies and parts. Because of this I decided that I will only post up Act (Part) 1, of 4 as there would not be anyone who would be there to read them anyway. I do not believe in wasting time and I think that writing the next parts would be a waste of time. **

**As of right now the story is not canceled but within the next few days, it is a MAJOR possibility! I have mucho more important things than to update a story that no one can see the potential in. I do have two other storys, my SW ones that need to be written and/or updated. If I do decide to cancel this story I will work full-time on them and slightly on the other parts of this story for my friends who are interested in it. And if we do decide to cancel it, the only way that you can get the text for the rest of the story is by emailing or pm-ing me and I will most likely be willing to send you scans of my original manuscript, if you can understand my really complicated and bunched-up handwriting.**

**Also, if there is lack of interest in this story because there are not many chappies yet - I have one thing to say to you...I HAVE WRITTEN _302_ PAGES OF IT! That is Part 1 ALONE! I was nowhere imagining to make this story short or sueish. So, please think about this and my message and if you really do care to know what happens in this story, review. That is the only way to save this story from cancelation and only recieving it by scans via email. **

**That is my only notes on the subject.**

**--Rika-san and Ella Gato**


	10. CANCELED!

**AS OF RIGHT NOW, THIS STORY IS OFFICIALLY CANCELED! **

**DUE TO LACK OF INTEREST AND HITS I DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO CONTINUE WRITING A STORY NO ONE WANTS TO READ. IF YOU WISH TO READ THE REST OF IT EMAIL ME. I WILL POST UP AN EPILOGUE LATER SOMETIME...**

**--Rika-san**


End file.
